Thorn-Touched Heart
by Angel of the Axis
Summary: AU. This is a retelling of 'Rose-Touched Heart', but with a sinister twist: After Amy is sent away on a mission, she runs into Moebius's infamous ruler, Scourge the Hedgehog. Both are after something, and neither have any qualms of using the other to get what they wanted. But when Amy finds herself gaining a crush on the heartbreaking sleaze, help comes from an unexpected source.
1. Chapter 1: Talk in the Milkshake Shop

**A/N: I know I'm about three years too late for something like this, and I'm terribly sorry. I know some of you might've been expecting something else *coughSasuSakucough*, but once I got the idea for this, it wouldn't go away.**

 **Please bear in mind that although this isn't the sequel that was promised back when I finished the original piece of cringe (of course, in my opinion), I will be updating this one when I get the chance. Usually, this will be on weekends.**

 **At this point, this may very well be the "rewrite" I was hoping to do on RTH, even though this is supposed to be an alternate universe version.**

 **As always, I own nothing from Sonic. All the characters except for a couple belong to SEGA.**

 **I really hope you enjoy this! Please be commenting, telling me what you think about this version! Of course, this is supposed to be closely tied to the original, so the ending may seem cut-and-dry, but I'd like you to tell me your predictions about what will happen!**

* * *

Twenty-four-year-old Amy Rose sat in the milkshake shop with Cream and Rouge, stirring a mint milkshake.

The girls had been happily discussing plans for that weekend. Cream, now eighteen, had been busy thinking about applying for a job and taking care of her mother, who had suffered a broken arm when Eggman had attacked a few weeks ago.

"How's your mother, Cream?" Rouge asked, sipping her own shake slowly.

"She's doing better..." The rabbit replied, sighing. "Even though the break wasn't as bad as we first thought it was, she keeps trying to act like it never got broken. I need to make her stop trying to cook and clean with a broken arm, but she never listens to me."

"I'm sorry, Cream." Amy patted her shoulder. "Maybe we should treat her to breakfast this weekend."

"Yeah, that would help her a lot." Cream smiled up at her. "I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

Rouge gulped down some more of her berry milkshake, her brow knitted together in thought.

"Rouge? What's up?" Amy asked her.

"Hm?" She snapped out of her thoughts, blinking at her. "Oh, I was just thinking about Knuckles. I mean, I'm thirty now, and we haven't had any kids yet."

"Oh, the married life," Amy teased, sticking out her tongue while Cream giggled.

"He wants to, but I don't know if I'm ready for it yet." Rouge admitted, biting her lower lip. "What if I'm not a good mom?"

"Rouge, I'm sure you'd nail being a parent." Amy gave her a cheeky grin. "At the very least, I'm sure Knuckles would appreciate the perks."

"Oh, hush, you naughty thing." The bat blushed and gently pushed her shoulder, making her laugh.

"What do you think Sonic wants?" Cream asked out of the blue, making Amy's laughter die.

"Oh, uh, I don't really know." She admitted slowly, lowering her eyes. "I hardly think it's just for a leisurely chat."

"You're right about one thing," Rouge snorted. "That hedgehog wouldn't make such a secretive move asking you to meet him and then ask you on a date or anything."

"Yeah, but I almost wish." The rosette sighed.

After Amy had changed the subject, the three chatted for a while.

About an hour or so later, the three had finished their drinks and a waiter walked up to their table.

"The bill, miss." He murmured, slipping a piece of paper on the table.

The three girls split the bill and left, heading their separate ways after saying goodbye.

As Amy was walking home, she heard giggling and rose an eyebrow, turning her head when she pinpointed where the sound was coming from.

She squinted, realizing that voice sounded _familiar_. "Hm...?"

Carefully stepping forward, she slowly peeked through the bushes...

Her eyes widened.

* * *

Amy ran to her home, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why?

Just as she was arms-length from the door, she stumbled and fell, firmly grasping the knob.

Letting out a pained yell, her forehead smacked the ground and she fell unconscious.

* * *

 **A/N: As always, I apologize for the short first chapter. I promise things will begin picking up next time. I can't say that chapter 2 will be that long, but by chapters 3 and 4 it will definitely begin to get longer.**

 **Please tell me what you thought and what you think will happen. Love you all!**


	2. Chapter 2: Pack Your Bags

**A/N: Thanks for the wait, guys! (Or rather, not-so-wait at this point) I know it seems a bit like a slow-burn right now, but I believe chapter 3 is where things really heat up! I'm trying to keep this as much of a parallel to the original as possible, so chapter 2 is going to be kind of short.**

 **As always, I own nothing except a few original characters. All the Sonic characters belong to SEGA.**

* * *

Amy sighed, packing her backpack, stuffing some spare clothes and toiletries inside.

Her phone buzzed, making her lose her focus for a moment. She picked it up, frowning when she read the message.

 _MESSAGE FROM:_

 _Tails Prowler_

 _SUBJECT: Leaving?_

 _Amy, you're not really leaving, are you?_

She sighed once more, stealing a glance at the agape backpack. Packing could wait.

Quickly texting a response, she put it down again, waiting for his reply.

* * *

The gang waited by the station impatiently, Tails tapping his feet.

Finally, when Amy walked up, he jumped. "Amy!"

She looked up at him, smiling. "Hey, Tails."

"Are you really leaving so soon?" Rouge asked quietly, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "After what happened last night, I thought you would want to wait."

"No, no, I'm fine." Amy persisted, wiping a tear away from her eye. She saw Knuckles hanging back, a frown on his face, arms folded over his chest. "Knuckles."

He perked up, turning to her. "Hm?"

"If I'm-" She struggled to find the apropriate words. "If I'm not back by May, then I give you permission to intervene."

"Aw, c'mon, don't say that." His eyes softened, and he hugged her loosely. "You'll be back before we know it."

"Yeah!" Cream smiled, her eyes watery as she leaned into Tails's arms. "And when you get back, we'll have a party! A big party, with all of our favorite foods! I can have my mom make you some of her famous ice cream."

"And I'll bring Sonic and Sally," Rouge piped up, patting her back. "I know they would be worried sick."

"Yeah..." Amy wiped at her eyes again, looking up at Knuckles's face. "Keep things together while I'm gone, okay?"

"Cream," She said, letting go of Knuckles to face the rabbit girl. "I give you full permission to smack Sonic up the head if he does anything stupid."

She giggled a little, wiping her own tears away. "I doubt I'd do that, but it's comforting to know you want me to."

"Tails." She continued, taking his hand. "Take care of Cream."

He blushed pink, looking away from her eyes and into Cream's. "I... uh, I don't think that'll be a problem, Amy."

"I'm off," she stepped away from the group, saluting them with a sad smile. "I'll be back quickly... at least, that's what I hope."

"Come back safe, Amy," Rouge warned, "or I'll sic Sonic on you!"

"Oh, don't worry." She chuckled, adjusting her backpack. "I'm a big girl. I can more than handle myself."

She glanced down at her watch, seeing that it was almost midnight. "I've gotta go now. I'll see you guys later."

She hugged everyone goodbye for one last time, and right as the clock struck midnight, she disappeared into the trees, leaving her waving friends behind herself.

* * *

Sonic watched her leave from a hill far above, a strange twinge in his heart.

He felt a lump in his throat. "Ames..."

Swallowing thickly, he turned away, his face shadowed by the moon.

"Sonic, she'll be fine." A comforting hand fell upon his shoulder, and when he looked up he saw Bernadette, smiling kindly at him.

"I know," he replied, shaking his head. "I just... I wonder."

"Why you chose her for this mission?" She finished for him, and when he nodded, she sighed heavily, taking the cobalt hedgehog into her embrace.

She knew he still had a few issues with being suddenly hugged, but as she stroked his back he relaxed into her arms.

"Bernadette," he whispered, clutching at her dress. The indigo hedgehog rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Shh," she soothed. "I know."

The two stood there for a while, mother and son in a moment of emotional vulnerability.

Bernadette began to hum a tune softly, closing her eyes when she felt something damp fall onto her shoulder.

"I told Jules that we would be back late," she murmured into his ear, "so if you need to let it out, let it out."

Right as those words left her mouth, his back began to shudder, and Sonic started to cry quietly, his knees buckling.

* * *

 **A/N: Whoa, big surprise there, right? Yeah, I'm throwing Sonic's parents in this time around, because Bernadette and Jules need more love! (except Anti-Jules; he doesn't deserve any right now. Actually? No. Screw Anti-Jules.)**

 **I know this might not get as popular as the original, but I don't really care about it getting popularity. I'm writing this because I want to give you guys something better than RTH. Since I've been reading up on the Sonic characters _again_ (especially from the comics, even though sad backstories kill my feelings), I decided to try and write an alternate version because I'm a real sucker for these kinds of twisted realities.**

 **I hope you stick around until the end! Please remember to tell me what you thought and what you think might happen. Love you all!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Fated Meeting

**A/N: Welcome to the next chapter! I apologize heartily for the week's delay. Apparently, some internal error was causing the chapter to not get saved. Thankfully, I'm back! You can definitely expect the next chapter next week!**

 **With that explanation, please enjoy!**

* * *

"It's so strange without Amy here," Sonic sulked as he slumped down even more in the booth.

"You've got that right." Knuckles mumbled between sips of his drink.

Tails patted his back sympathetically, eyeing his shake. "Sonic, if you don't drink it, it'll melt."

"I know, Tails." The blue hedgehog sighed, taking the cup in his hands. He took a sip before setting it back on the table, resuming his sulk.

"You know," Knuckles began, trying to break the awkward silence between the three friends, "Sally was telling me about how her dad was going to throw a party when Amy gets back."

Sonic didn't reply.

The three sat there, Knuckles and Tails exchanging looks.

Finally, Tails said, "So, um...how's Sally's boyfriend doing?"

"Fine," was the curt reply. "She likes him."

After another moment or two of silence, Knuckles pounded the table with a fist, almost cracking the surface and making their drinks shake a bit.

"Okay, that's it." He growled. "Sonic, you and I both know that Amy wouldn't want you to throw a huge pity party all the time she's gone. Put your head up, take a drink, and start planning on ways to surprise her when she gets back!"

The hedgehog flinched, but slowly rose his head, grinning weakly at his friend.

"You're... you're right, Knuckles." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Amy would probably yell at me if she saw this. I'm just so worried. What if she doesn't make it back? What if Scourge does something to her?"

"Sonic, Amy's capable of defending herself." Tails reminded.

"Not against my doppelganger." He retorted with an anxious frown. "If she can't beat me in a fight, what makes you think she'll have any sort of upper hand against a me from another universe?"

"Hmm... you have a point," Knuckles nodded his head. "But she wouldn't just let herself get captured. There's Anti-Eggman over there, remember?"

"But Anti-Eggman couldn't hurt a fly," Tails sighed. "He wouldn't want to fight. Still, that possibility is better than nothing."

The other two murmured their agreement, and thankfully, Sonic was cheered up enough to change the conversation, and the three had a good time.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a peaceful forest glen, a certain female hedgehog was awakening. Opening her eyes, she relished in the quiet rustling of the trees and the birds chirping all around her.

She sat up, stretched, and yawned, unzipping the door of the tent to get a better look of her surroundings.

It was even more beautiful than she'd remembered in her sleepy daze the night before. Surrounded by tall oaks and darker pine trees, the sun shone cheerfully down through the branches and onto her face, warming her and energizing her. The clearing itself was grassy, with flowers popping up here and there. She could hear the faint rushing of a stream nearby, and as she watched, she saw butterflies descend from seemingly nowhere.

"Good morning," she whispered to herself with a small smile.

After a moment or two more of relishing in her gorgeous find, she began to get dressed and pack her things. As she stuffed the compact tent back into her pack, she slung it over her shoulders, resuming her journey through the hills.

As she walked, she thought about the task at hand.

Going to Anti-Mobius was no small task, she realized. It would take a fool to believe that she could just waltz on in. She had to be careful, concise in her plan.

Her eyes lit up when the idea struck her. Of course! How could she have been so naiive? She'd have to find someone to take her there!

But who would...?

She reflected over the denizens of that world. Obviously it wouldn't be easy to find someone who was both willing and powerful enough to take her there. It couldn't be just some random civilian who happened to wander into Mobius.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to think of all her options.

* * *

Sonic stared at her front door for the longest time, the will to knock almost overpowering. He knew nobody would answer, but still the muscles in his arm twitched, force of habit driving him crazy.

Yet he stood there as if he were frozen in that spot, not able to command his arm to lift. His mind chastisized him that he was just lonely, and in some capacity he agreed; there was still something almost comforting by being in her home.

Finally, he rose his hand to the knob. He turned it, only to find it locked.

He cracked a smile. Same ol' Amy.

He pretended to lift a hand to his chin in thought. "If I were Amy, I would leave a spare key..."

Only a moment later he bent over to pick up a seemingly-innocent rock, and upon shaking it revealed the house key. "...right here!"

He set the rock back down in the same inconspicuous place and unlocked her door. Upon opening it, he was immediately hit with the familiar scent of apples and vanilla.

Smiling wider, he stepped in, the warmth from inside encasing him after he'd shut the door behind himself.

He stood there for a few moments, eyes closed, not wanting to leave her doorway. Eventually, though, his stomach began to growl, forcing him to walk further in.

"I wonder if she's got anything..." He mused, heading for her kitchen.

When he got to the fridge, he saw that she'd pinned a note on the door with a magnet.

 _Sonic,_

 _I knew you'd come over while I'm gone, so I stocked the freezer with food._

 _Don't eat too much of it at once!_

 _-Love, Amy_

He grinned, removing the note and setting it on the counter. When he opened the freezer, he was greeted with a smorgasborg of different frozen foods, like pizza and burritos, and of course, his favorite chili-dogs.

"I love you so much right now, Amy," he groaned as he grabbed a deep-dish pizza from the top rack.

* * *

Amy squinted to see in the glaring sunset, putting a hand over her eyes to shadow them.

"So Rose Park is a little ways from here," she murmured to herself, checking the map in her hands, "so if I keep going, I might make it before morning. Ugh, where is a being with super speed when you need him?"

As she was thinking aloud, she suddenly crashed into someone, making her stumble backwards. She yelped, the map falling from her hand.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" She panicked, reaching out to the person she hit. "I wasn't looking! I-"

When she finally loked up, her eyes went wide.

"Hey-a, Rose, long time no see." Peridot fur, cobalt eyes hidden behind dark-lensed glasses, and a sharp-toothed smile. Who else to run into than Scourge?

"Scourge." Her voice went quieter, and she stepped away a bit. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." He chuckled, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. The fabric shifted a bit, and she could see the ugly gash of a scar ripped across his chest.

"Well, I asked you first." She narrowed her eyes teasingly at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Meh, going places. Here, there, anywhere I wanna go."

He leaned against a tree, folding his arms on his chest. "Speaking of travelling, what brings you out of Station Square?"

She flinched, her eyes deepening with sadness. "Oh, I... um..."

"Too painful to talk about?" He asked, a twinge of genuine concern in his voice.

"Y-Yeah, I just..." She shook her head, willing the tears away. "I had to get away for a while, you know?"

"I see." He nodded in affirmation of that answer and sighed. "Wouldn't you be chasing my clone somewhere by now?"

She winced and sniffled. "I'd rather you not speak of Sonic... please."

She turned away from him, trying to let herself cry when she'd thought of what had happened a couple of days prior.

"Hey, Rose..." Scourge's voice was quiet as he put a hand on her shoulder.

She found her knees buckling and she turned, throwing herself at his chest, sobbing quietly into his furred chest.

"Scourge," she hiccupped, tightening her grip on his jacket, "I can't- I can't take it anymore! Oh, Scourge, please, take me with you! I don't want to be here anymore!"

He was stunned at her outburst, staring at the pinkette with surprised sea-blue eyes. She was so unlike her counterpart, so mature and strong-willed. And yet, when it came to emotional matters, they were nearly identical...

He hesitantly patted her back, trying to come up with a plan of action for the crying girl.

"You want me to-" He cut himself off, licking his dry lips as she looked up at him with such a heartbroken expression, he could've sworn he felt something inside him break. "You want to- to come to Moebius?"

"Please," she all but begged, her head hitting his chest again. "Take me away from here. Take me away."

He took a few moments to think.

What would he gain from letting Amy come with him to Moebius? Truth be told, he was only there on a stroll around the - admittedly peaceful, he snarled - world, and he definitely wasn't expecting to run into a crying girl at this time of day.

He gazed down at her head in thought, watching her ears twitch with every sob into his clothes. She was a very pretty young woman. She'd filled out in the years since he'd met her. She looked so nearly like Rosy, and yet, he realized with a shudder, Rosy was far from being 'normal' again. Amy was a little better than Rosy, in his opinion, but the fact remained that she still pined for his pitiful Mobian self.

Slowly, a grin spread across his face. He'd made his choice, and when his plans had come to fruition, Sonic would be the one begging for mercy in jail.

"Alright, I'll take you there," he replied, careful not to let any of his intentions leak through his voice. "Just hold on and I'll get the portal running."

"Thank you so much," she wiped her tears away and smiled up at him, her eyes tired and puffy.

He felt his heart jump a little when she looked at him with that innocent expression, but dug out his device from his pocket and aimed it at the ground.

Instantly when he pressed the button, a hole appeared in the air, swirling with what looked like tiny stars. She could see what looked like a dull red sky and wilted grass inside the mirror-like image, and with a gulp and a glance behind herself she and Scourge walked into the portal, hand-in-hand.

Immediately the portal disappeared in a flash of white light, and when the coast was clear, disbelieving red eyes peered out from the trees.

"Rose...?"

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this slightly-lengthier chapter! As always, please continue to tell me what you thought and what you think will happen! I'll see you next time. Love you all!**


	4. Chapter 4: His Highness's Loyal Servant

**A/N: Welcome back to the story! I thank everyone who's reading through so far. It makes me get so many warm fuzzies when I see people enjoying something I create. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Sonic was sitting at the park with the rest of the gang, having a picnic. Cream was giggling at something Tails said, and Sonic was leaned back, smirking at the young couple.

In a slight gust of wind, Shadow appeared, Chaos Emerald in hand.

"Yo, Shadow!" Sonic greeted, standing up. "Why are you here all of a sudden? No offense, but you never seem to like hanging out with us."

"Cut the pleasantries, faker." He replied, ignoring his question. "I just saw Anti-Sonic with Rose."

The entire picnic suddenly grew silent, everyone turning to stare at the red-striped hedgehog.

"You- what?" Sonic narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Anti- you mean Scourge?"

"Scourge, Anti-Sonic, whatever he calls himself." Shadow sighed harshly. "I saw him take Rose through a portal to his world."

"Whoa, whoa, wait." Tails interrupted with wide eyes. "You mean he can make his own portals now?"

"I saw what I saw."

"That's very bad news." Tails slumped a bit, making Cream wrap her arms around him in concern. "If that technology is in Scourge's hands, there's no telling what havoc he could cause on Mobius!"

"He could team up with Eggman!" Sonic caught on, gaping at Shadow. "Where'd you see them leave at?"

"They were nearing Rose Park," Shadow recounted, folding his arms over his chest. "But there's no way we could follow them yet."

"Why not? You've got a Chaos Emerald," the blue hedgehog pointed out. "You can teleport us there!"

"I'm saying that's a bad idea right now," Shadow snapped at him with a glare. "Think about it. When you gave Amy this mission, you both knew she had to try this on her own. Amy wouldn't want you to barge in just yet."

The hero opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he realized that Shadow was right. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Man, you're right." He mumbled. "I'm sorry. I'm just so worried about her."

"We're all worried, Sonic," Knuckles piped up from the back of the blanket. "Hey, Shadow, you could go check on her, right?"

"That is something I can do, yes." He affirmed, raising an eyebrow.

"Go meet up with her any way you can." Tails said. "If she ever needs our help, she can tell you to bring us to her. That way she won't be totally alone."

"Hmph. I'd already thought of that." Shadow closed his eyes. "Very well. I'll go check on her later tonight."

* * *

"Miles!" Scourge called out into the darkness.

Slowly, the young fox emerged from the shadows, the ever-present scowl on his face making Amy nervous.

"You called for me, sire?" He asked, his voice dripping with honey.

"I brought the Mobian Amy." He pushed her gently forward, turning to walk away. "Give her a room and some clothes."

"At once, my king." The boy bowed, looking up at her with - dare she say it - a sort of softened expression. "Follow me."

Once he began to walk away, she glanced behind herself, only to find Scourge had disappeared. Sighing quietly, she turned back to Miles and followed him out of the entrance.

He led her through twisting corridors, the stone floors and walls reminding her of a depressing dungeon.

As they walked up several flights of stairs in silence, she attempted to mingle with him. "Soooo... Miles, how have you been?"

The Anti-Freedom Fighter stayed mute, hands folded behind his back as he led her.

She sighed once more, pausing to look out of one castle window. The sky was still a bloody crimson, no sign of the sun in the horizon. Her heart broke for the people, so miserable under their ruler.

 _There must be some way to save them,_ she decided firmly, moving quicker behind the fox, _and I will be the one to find it._

"This is your room, miss Rose." Miles gestured toward a door. She gave him a grateful smile and a 'thank you' before stepping in, bracing herself for the mess.

To her surprise, the room was orderly, yet somewhat bare, with a large wardrobe on one wall next to the large window with off-white curtains, with a twin-sized bed on the other side. There was a chest at the foot of the bed, the bed itself decorated with a rich velvet-looking red duvet. A few extra throw pillows were stacked at an angle at the head, and next to it was a nightstand with a lamp and a single vase, a wilted, unrecognizable flower drooping in the stagnant-looking water.

A long red carpet spanned the length of the floor, covering the stonework. She gazed to her left and found a large mirror on the wall next to the door along with another endtable below it. On the wall conjoining it, she found a door that went to the bathroom or closet. Or so she guessed. Right across from the door was another one on the right wall, and she had to guess that one went to either the closet or bathroom too.

It was all beautifully decorated in shades of red and off-white, almost a cream color, and she just could not fathom that someone like Scourge could own something so breathtaking and untouched from the carnage of the rest of the kingdom.

"This is..." She trailed off, turning to look at the fox. "...surprisingly lavish."

"It is one of the many guest rooms in the castle," he explained, taking a step backward. "Thankfully, his highness is too lazy to touch them."

Amy nearly missed the joke, but the wry smile on his face made her giggle.

"You actually crack jokes?" She beamed down at him. "Here I thought you were too stuffy for that, Miles."

He merely shrugged his shoulders, a movement that barely lifted them an inch. "I must retain some... _human_ qualities, while I work for King Scourge." He seemed to hesitate as he stepped away, looking back and forth from her to the window. "I will come get you when it's time for dinner."

"Okay. Should I dress up?" She asked, gesturing to her wrinkled, dirty travelling dress.

"Yes. Definitely." He nodded once, sharply, and turned away, walking back down the hall.

"Wait!" She cried, making him freeze in place. She blushed an embarassed pink as he turned back to her, an eyebrow risen in question.

"I- uh," she began to stammer, interlocking her hands together behind herself. "I mean, isn't there some way to repay you for being so kind to me? I honestly don't deserve it, especially after that issue with Sonic and Scourge..." **(1)**

He stayed silent while she tried to collect her thoughts together. "Wh-What I mean is, I feel so guilty just taking this nice room without repaying you in any way."

She looked away for a moment, ready for him to laugh at her mortified rant, but to her surprise, she heard him make a rumbling 'hmm' in thought.

She looked back at him to see one hand on his chin, his eyes narrowed towards the floor.

"I'd do anything," she continued quietly, making his ears perk up. "Anything."

He scrutinized her face slowly, his frown seeming to burn right through her head. She gulped, fearing that he would attack her for asking.

Finally, when he let out a drawn-out sigh, she let out a breath in relief. He looked up at her, seemingly determined about whatever decision he was about to make.

"Actually," he began, eyes flickering towards hers, "there _is_ something you can do..."

* * *

 _"... have come back with some... interesting news."_

* * *

 **(1): Unnamed incident between Sonic and Scourge (not in the Archie Comics timeline, however).**

 **A/N: Thanks for reading through another chapter! Please continue to tell me what you thought. This chapter is particularly interesting. We have the return of Miles! But... what role will he play this time? Please tell me what path you think this will go down! Love you all!**


	5. Chapter 5: Deep Conversations

**A/N: Hey, guys! I apologize both for how short this seems and for the long wait. This chapter sat in limbo for a while, and I couldn't muster the creativity to finish it, but now here it is!**

 **I'm sorry I haven't done anything in the spirit of Halloween, either, but college has been keeping me pretty busy.**

 **Well, here's chapter 5!**

* * *

Amy gulped, staring down at her food in trepidation as Sonic's twisted double ate right next to her.

 _Is this the best day of my life, or the worst day of my life?_ She thought miserably, sneaking a peek to her right. _I managed to get into Anti-Mobius...now what?_

"Y'know," the voice suddenly coming from next to her suddenly seemed to boom, making her jump, "your food's gonna get cold if all you do is stare at it."

"O-Oh, really?" She laughed nervously, twirling her fork in her fingers. "I'm sorry, I must've zoned out."

"What's weighing so heavy on that mind of yours, Rose?" Scourge asked, glancing over at her as he took another drink out of his goblet.

"Well, I just-" She tried to think of a way to communicate her thoughts, but finally, defeated, she replied, "I guess I'm just exhausted. It's been a long week."

There was a pause.

She turned to face Scourge, who gazed at her with an unreadable expression. He closed his eyes and nodded. "I can definitely relate."

She waited for him to speak again, because the way his brows scrunched together made her wonder if he were dying to say something.

Instead, he just continued eating in silence, making her shake her head and stab a piece of lettuce with her fork.

"It's weird," his sudden voice nearly made her drop her fork. "You and the Amy of this world turned out so differently..."

Turning to stare at him with a look of disbelief at the out-of-left-field comment, Amy nearly wanted to say something-

"But both of your goals are the same, in essence, in the end, aren't they?" He asked, meeting her eyes with a serious expression on his face. "You'll still be in love with him, and... Rosy's just... obsessed with me, I guess."

Both of them stared at each other, until he turned away.

"You know, I never thought about it that way," she remarked quietly. "Even though we're so different, we are the same."

She hesitated, then laughed wryly. "Even though one of us just wants to kill her Sonic, that is."

He didn't even laugh.

"Scourge, what's on your mind?" She finally asked him, the tension radiating off of him thick as the steak on her plate. "You weren't this... _reflective_ , last time."

He smiled this time, a mirthless one. "You're right about one thing, Rose. I guess after my defeat, I've had time to think."

"On?"

"On what the heck I've been doing all these years, I suppose." He shrugged and took another bite of meat. "A mid-midlife crisis, if you will."

She chuckled softly and ate some more salad.

* * *

The night had risen, the lightless moon sitting pensively in the sky amidst the darkened clouds. There were no stars to litter the sky that night; unfortunately, it had also blanketed the land in a sort of inescapable darkness.

Amy nearly shivered under her blankets when she'd thought of what the citizens had to go through every night.

"I miss home so much," she whispered to herself, clenching her eyes shut to try and stop the tears that welled up. "I wish I could be with Cream right now."

She continued to lay there, depressed and alone, when there came a rustling at the corner of her room.

Her ears twitched and she sat up in bed, eyeing the corner in fear. "He-Hello?"

No noise was made.

She squinted, leaning forward to try and see better. "Hello? Is anyone in here?"

"Rose?"

The familiar voice made her gasp. Lo and behold, the Ultimate Lifeform stepped out of the shadows, clutching one of the emeralds in his hand. His normally stoic gaze melted a little when he lay eyes on her.

She hopped out of bed and raced over to him, nearly tackling him to the ground in a tight hug. "Shadow, you're here! I can't believe you actually- wait."

She pulled back, frowning at him. "How did you know...?"

"I saw you come here with Anti-Sonic," he explained. "I'm here on request."

"Oh." She pouted a bit, but grabbed his shoulders and beamed at him. "I'm so happy I'm not alone! You're not staying for long, though, are you?"

"I'm afraid not." He shook his head, leading her over to her bed. "I can only stay for a little while."

"Aw, that's too bad." She sighed, slipping back under the covers. "Still, the fact that you thought to visit me is nice. How's everyone doing? Rouge? Cream? Sally?"

"Cream and Vanilla are fine, from what I heard," he replied, gazing out the window, "and Rouge is still thinking about Knuckles' proposition."

"That's good," she breathed in relief. "I was worried that Cream would be too upset about what happened."

"She's better now that she can visit Vanilla." He nodded to her. "Unfortunately, the damage the city has since sustained will take a long time to fix."

"And after all the peace we've had..." She exhaled harshly, her hands curling into fists in her blankets. "I swear we will find a way to make him pay."

"We don't need to worry about revenge as of right now." Shadow glanced at the sky outside, then back to Amy. "Several of your team members are tracking him down."

"Lemme guess," she smiled, "Sonic?"

"And Tails." The noir hedgehog nodded. "Sharp as usual."

"It's gotten so monotonous at this point, how couldn't you predict what's gonna happen?"

"You do have a point." He sat down on the edge of her bed. "How is the mission?"

"It's a slow go." She seemed disappointed, slumping slightly. "At least Miles is nice. In exchange for my stay here, he's allowed me to help out with the gardening."

"For a moment, I would have suspected you to say he wanted you to help cook."

"Very funny, Shadow." She snorted. "I'm not clueless enough to volunteer to cook."

"No, no, I am confident that they love it." He shook his head, an almost smile on his lips. "But it seems like a predictable activity."

"True, I do love cooking," she mused. "But the gardens could use some big time work. Even the flower in that vase over there is too depressing to look at. I can't imagine anyone wanting to live with grounds _this_ drab."

"Whatever you say, Rose."

* * *

Amy and Shadow had spent a better part of the night deep in conversation. They had spoken of many things, from the mission to what they would do when the rosette came home. Before either of them knew, the sky was beginning to lighten and a faint sunrise was almost visible.

"I have to go," Shadow finally stood, dusting himself off. He glanced about the room one last time before giving her a smirk. "Your room needs work before that garden, you know."

"I've already told you, this is a guest room!" She huffed, yet with a playfulness to her offence. She gave him a weary smile and opened her arms.

He rolled his eyes, but complied, stepping forward so that she could hug him once more.

"I'll be careful, and I will come back alive." She promised him, her eyes alight with a fiery determination befitting her spitfire personality. As sweet as she looked, even when exhausted, she could still pack a punch, and Shadow was very keen to that fact.

"At the very least, _I_ know you will." He let go of her before letting out a scoff. "I'm not so sure the Faker will, however."

"Oh, Shadow, you know you care about us." She teased with a grin. "Keep me updated." She continued, shifting in her bed as he stepped away. "I don't want Sonic going into a full-blown panic because he doesn't know what's going on."

"Typical hedgehog." The noir-furred male snorted indignantly. He held up the Emerald. "I shall return tonight."

"That's totally fine." She nodded, her eyelids finally drooping in exhaustion. "I'll just-" she yawned before she could finish, "-just be waiting here."

He nodded once, curtly.

Even before Shadow had left, Amy's head had hit the pillow and she was fast asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Once again, guys, I apologize for leaving this on such a long hiatus. College has sapped what little creativity I can muster, and I just didn't have a single clue as to how I would end chapter 5. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you thought, give your hypotheses for what will happen next, and I'll see you guys later!**


	6. Chapter 6: Musings of Moebius

**A/N: Oof, y'all won't believe what an idiot I can be at ten PM. I accidentally named chapter 5 the title of this chapter, and I almost sent this as chapter 5. I need to go to bed.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The days had begun to fly by. Amy had settled right in to her new job tending the failing gardens of the castle. With her decorating skills and a little touch of love, before anyone had known it, the grounds were springing to life as they had once upon a time ago.

Slowly, the denizens had begun to realize that something was changing in the castle. The citizens had begun to stop and stare at the pretty young woman humming as she watered the flowers and trimmed the bushes. They had whispered about the pink hedgehog with the warm smile behind closed doors. Most of them knew that there was no way their king had gotten himself a wife.

Yet there were some that hoped.

Ever since he'd first lain eyes on the girl after the trouble with Sonic, Miles had felt like something had changed with Amy. She seemed more calm, more content these days. Even when she awoke only an hour after sunrise and with heavy, dark bags under her eyes - he had long suspected she wasn't sleeping well, but he was too polite to say anything - and even when she worked from dawn until dusk, keeping everything orderly, he noted that she never once snapped at him, the palace workers, the Suppression Squad, or the king.

When thinking of the pair's history with each other, he thought it a miracle that she hadn't at the very least _looked_ at Scourge the wrong way. When she'd first arrived with the green hedgehog, he'd thought that she would eventually get annoyed with him, what with his lack of manners towards his servants, with the shameless ways he interacted with women, and the way he seemed, at least outwardly, to carry his hatred for the Mobians and their hero, Sonic.

He also noted it quite odd that they hadn't heard of Rosy in a while. Day 56, he snarked when he looked at the chalk markings on the wall of the staff's private quarters. Perhaps she had finally given up her delusions? Or perhaps she was planning another attack...?

Whatever the case, he wryly smiled, it wasn't like she had the capacity to think rationally anymore. No matter how old she physically got, she would always stay 11 due to the unfortunate reaction to the ring's power. Honestly, at this point, he accepted it. It made sense. Their ring _was_ the alternate version of the Mobians' Ring of Acorns.

For a moment, he forgot about Rosy and focused on the pinkette hedgehog, who was, of course, in the gardens. Currently, she was trying to cultivate a bed of geraniums. She hummed some tune quietly as she watered, careful not to waste water as she went about the row.

He frowned as he watched her from a window. Just how on earth could _anyone_ , much less her, be so calm? He still remembered the way she'd acted before, the way she had been so infactuated with the king's heroic counterpart. Yet, he forced himself to remember how she'd put herself on the line to save her friends, to save _Sonic_ -

He saw her put down the watering can and kneel by the flowers. Perhaps it was a bug. He didn't know if they had bugs anymore, what with the hellish landscape.

Twelve years, it had been. The king was nearing his thirtieth birthday, and fortunately (or was it _un_ fortunately?), had not named an heir to the throne.

 _Twelve years._

Miles let out a heavy exhale. Had it really been that long? The time seemed to fly by, as always. Of course, there was no time for contemplating time when the king had them squashing mini-rebellions here and there. Just like there was no time for peace, there was no time for him to realize just how much his life had slipped away.

He chuckled a little, thinking back to his younger days as a fighter, back when the empire Scourge had created was still new, back when everyone seemed to rebel against their new leader. It had been a hard-fought struggle, but in the end, the Anti-Freedom Fighters, as they'd been dubbed by Mobius Prime, had won control.

He suddenly seemed to realize what he was doing and straightened up against the wall.

 _Foolish,_ he chided himself, clutching his hands behind his back and turning, walking stiffly away. _We have no time to be mulling over such foolish thoughts. Not when there is so much work to be done._

* * *

As it turned out, gardening was her only escape.

Amy Rose exhaled heavily, leaning against the wall of the castle. The empty watering can was barely being held by her shaking fingers, and she forced herself to keep her eyes open for just until she could put the tools back in the shed.

 _Nothing._

Absolutely _nothing_.

She growled in frustration, slamming the watering can on the table in the gardening shed and kicking the door shut, leaving her alone, in nothing but lamplight, contemplating how screwed she was.

Over two weeks had gone by since she'd gotten to Moebius, and try as she might, she was still at the same starting point she'd been at when she touched her feet down on this stupid kingdom's ground.

Stupid. Everything was stupid.

 _"Calm down, Amy,"_ she chided herself silently, taking deep, ragged breaths to ease her angered thoughts. _"As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day. Just because you haven't made any progress in two weeks..."_

"It's probably the sleep deprivation talking," she chuckled mirthlessly to herself as she took off the gardening gloves and washed her hands in a barrel of water by the door. Only a few days into her stay, Shadow had chided her about staying up all night to talk to him, and he pledged to only check in on her every couple of nights just to make sure she was getting an adequate amount of sleep.

Sadly, though, most of the nights he wasn't with her were spent pacing up and down the cold flagstone floor, the carpet only relieving some of the sting in her soles. What in the world was she to do?

She stood there for a few minutes more, her eyelids drooping more and more before she snapped out of it at the sound of the door opening. As daylight poured into the shed, she whirled around to see Miles, King Scourge's right-hand man, gazing at her with a look of indifference.

"M-Miles!" She stammered, the gloves in her fingers falling to the surface of a table. "Wha- uh, what are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be-"

"-Advising the king or aiding the Suppression Squad? Perhaps," he interrupted her, stepping into the shed. "But his majesty has requested your presence in the throne room immediately."

"O-oh, sure." She nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Should I- y'know- change first?"

He paused, looking her up and down. Only a hint of a frown showed in his expression.

"No time," he decided, turning and leaving the shed. "Come."

She nodded, even though he couldn't see, and exited the shed, shutting and locking the door behind herself.

As she hurried along behind him, she slipped on her usual gloves and cleared her throat. "So, uh, what does he want with me?"

"You will have to find out when we get there," was Miles's only reply.

She nodded her head once, a frown knitting her brow.

When they had entered the castle, the heat of the day soon left her at the cool breeze. She sighed deeply, taking in the cold of the castle walls.

They found the throne room quickly, and once Miles had requested entry, he was granted it, and he accompanied Amy only as far as he needed to get her within ten feet of the throne.

He excused himself quietly, disappearing into somewhere she couldn't see.

She looked up at the emerald-furred king with a nervousness that made her voice quiver. "You, um, wished to see me?"

"Yeah." Scourge was lazily sprawled out with his legs crossed over the armrest of the throne. "Miles tells me that you've been gardening a lot lately."

"Well, yes, that's what we agreed on." She nodded. Where in the heck was he going with this?

The king nodded contemplatively. "Yeah, I'm gonna need you to take a few days off."

She almost didn't hear what he said, and when she realized, she started for a second. "Wait, what? Why?"

"Because I'm gonna tell you plainly," he leaned in, even though they were five feet from each other, "you look like you're almost dead. You're hereby relieved from your gardening duties for a week."

"But- but the flowers-" she began to protest.

"I'll have someone else water them. Happy?" He grunted, leaning back against the chair with a roll of his cruelean eyes. "Geez, if I'd have known you would get _this_ invested, I would have told you no right off the bat."

She was almost insulted at the flippancy of his tone. This was what they agreed she'd do in exchange of her stay! But soon, the sleepiness caught up to her and she bowed slightly, careful not to close her eyes.

"Thank you, your highness," she mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Yeah, and about that." He waved his hand in the air. "No need for this 'your highness' crap. Just call me Scourge, alright?"

"Whatever you want, Scourge."

* * *

Once Amy had been escorted from the throne room and he had received the word that she was tucked into bed, Scourge went limp against his throne, resting his forehead in the palm of his hand.

"You don't look well, my king." Miles observed, almost sarcastically.

"Really? _Naaaaw_. How could you tell?" The king lifted his head for a few moments to glare at his right-hand fox, but he soon relaxed again. "You were right to tell me."

"I do not wish to see her unable to preform her expected duties for longer than necessary." Miles answered simply, folding his hands.

Scourge thought about it for a few moments.

"Yeah, me neither," he mumbled.

Miles rose an eyebrow at him. "You do know you're nearing your thirtieth birthday, and you haven't found a wife, right?"

"Reminded of it every day, Miles." He rubbed his eyes underneath his shades, letting out a groan. "If I had a shot for every time-"

"We don't need you black-out drunk again, your _majesty_ ," the fox retorted. "It was hard enough when you turned twenty-one."

"Heh, that was a good birthday." He smiled at the thought. It soon disappeared when he spoke again. "There's simply no woman here that either I have an interest in, will give me the time of day, or both."

"Because of how you've... _courted_ them all." Miles turned up his nose in a sneer. "What about Alicia?"

"What _about_ Alicia?" Scourge turned his hardened gaze to his servant.

"She was infactuated with you."

"For a time." Rolling his eyes, the king continued to mope.

"What about Fiona?"

"Nah, she doesn't- we haven't-" Scourge sighed harshly. "No."

"Fine, then." Miles hmphed and folded his arms across his chest. "Then the only woman left around Moebius is Amy Rose."

"What? No." Scourge glared at him. "Believe me, as long as I live, she'll continue to be obsessed with my counterpart."

"But haven't you spent enough time with her to notice?" Miles challenged him. "You two have eaten the vast majority of your suppers together, you've engaged in conversation every time, haven't you noticed? Her feelings have shifted."

"Nah, they haven't." He shook his head, looking away. "Even if they had..."

The fox rose an eyebrow at him, awaiting the end of his sentence.

Scourge tried to gather his thoughts, but instead just shook his head. "...even if they had, still, no."

"You want to."

" _No_ , I- I don't."

"Your body language says otherwise, _sire_."

"Would you stop calling me those names?" Scourge snapped. "You know I hate it when you call me 'your highness' or 'your majesty'."

"But that is what you are," Miles retorted, turning to walk out of the throne room. "And that's what you will continue to be until either you name an heir or leave the throne to someone else."

When Miles had shut the doors to the throne room behind himself, only Scourge was left on the throne, burning holes into said door with his frustrated scowl.

* * *

 _Amy walked home, content after the girls' day out she'd had._

 _She continued to wonder to herself when she heard giggling._

 _"Hm...?" She wondered, sneaking up to the bushes._

 _When she saw who it was, she smiled._

 _"Oh, Sonic, I was looking for you." She gave him a cheeky grin. "Sorry if I interrupted anything."_

 _The squirrel returned her smile and Sonic laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head._

 _"Hey, Ames." He made a 'come here' motion. "Yeah, I had something for you. Or rather, Sally and I did."_

 _"Alright, you've piqued my curiosity." She leaned against a tree. "What do you need me to do, Princess?"_

 _"The spies we sent to the other world," she began, shifting her eyes to make sure nobody was listening, "have come back with some interesting news."_

 _Amy leaned in, raising an eyebrow._

 _"Apparently," the squirrel continued, "Anti-Sonic- er- Scourge has been planning something. Inside sources tell me that he's been researching interdimensional travel. Once he masters a way, there's no telling what havoc he can wreck on both worlds."_

 _"Oof, you're telling me." Amy whistled lowly and crossed her arms. "So what do you want me to do?"_

 _"Whatever you can." Sally frowned into her eyes. "Do whatever you must to sabotage his plans. If he's still researching by the time you find a way to Moebius, then I'd suggest tampering with his research. If you're too late..."_

 _All three exchanged looks, Sonic's face incredibly grim._

 _"Just..." The princess cleared her throat. "Just take him down."_

 _"I gotcha." Amy nodded, almost sarcastically laughing, "One interdimensional royal assassination, coming right up."_

 _"As much as I admire your ability to joke about this," Sonic chuckled, leaning against a tree, "we need this to be carried out within a couple of months."_

 _"Yeah. Eggman will be attacking soon," Sally's voice took a grim turn, "and we need all the security we can get. With Scourge out of the way, we won't have another disaster like last time."_

 _Amy nodded once again. "Yeah, I know. I'll find out all I can... if I can get there in one piece, that is. Don't you worry. Scourge will not lay a single finger on Mobius."_

* * *

 **A/N: Even though I've managed a double-upload, it will most likely be a while before the next chapter comes out. I'm sorry in advance! I'll try to keep working diligently on it, but between the Reader books and TCSD, I have my hands full.**

 **Regardless, I hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen, and I'll see you guys later!**


	7. Chapter 7: The Unorthodox Proposal

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm sorry it took so long to post this. I've been pretty busy with my homework, but I finally got time over Thanksgiving break to write this. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of my followers that celebrate it, by the way!**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Two nights later, Amy was sitting on her bed, staring out of the window at the land outside.

The sky was an all-encompassing black, as usual, although she couldn't help but feel that the night gave an... eerie feeling this time.

 _"What could this be?" She thought grimly as a stray breeze gently rustled her hair. "What could be happening? Are these..."_

She could see, out of the corner of her eye, the familiar flash of light that accompanied the Ultimate Lifeform in his travel, and when she turned around, she was met with a sullen-faced Shadow.

"Shadow...?" Her voice was quieter than she'd expected, and she anxiously drew the curtains and stood.

His frown seemed... saddened, somehow.

"Miss Rose..." he shook his head slowly.

* * *

Scourge paced up and down in his personal chambers, the candlelight flickering across his face with shadows of worry.

What was he to do?

Ever since Miles had talked to him two days earlier, he'd been unable to get the thoughts out of his mind. They drove him mad, keeping him awake for hours on end, making him restless and irritable.

Amy. Amy Rose.

 _Emi_ Rose...

He shook his head violently, trying to get her oh-so-familiar face, now twisted in a disgustingly lecherous sneer, out of his mind's eye.

That wouldn't do. Not in a million years.

He sighed harshly, glancing towards the window. It was a lightless twilight, same as usual, although on this night, it seemed... ominous.

"What am I gonna do...?" He asked himself quietly, gritting his teeth in frustration. He harshly rubbed at his eyes, blinking through the sleepiness that suddenly seemed to hit him like a wave.

 _"I've gotta find someone."_ The single thought echoed in his brain. _"But... who? Who would provide an advantage?"_

He yawned, stretching his arms above his head. Right when he felt his back pop, his eyes flew open, a name coming to mind.

"How in the _hell_ did I not think of this earlier?"

"Sire?" Miles stepped in, and the king turned to see him standing by the door with a grim expression.

"Miles?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ya didn't even bother to knock? I could've been naked, for all you knew."

"Thank goodness you weren't," he muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat and shut the door. "I believe there's something you need to be made aware of."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Scourge whined, gesturing towards his bed. "I was just about to go to bed."

"It's urgent." The look in the fox's eyes made him pause.

"Alright," he sighed heavily and sat on his satin bedcovers, folding his arms across his chest. "I'll hear you out. But it better be really important, or I'm making you oversee the prisoners for a week."

* * *

A knock at the door startled the rosette from her sleep. Her eyes snapped open in surprise, yet she yawned and asked, "Yes? Who's it?"

"It's Miles, miss Rose." The fox's voice was muffled behind the door, yet she could somehow hear everything he said. "Permission to enter?"

She thought for a moment. She hopped out of bed, tugged the covers up, and brushed out her quills quickly. When she was satisfied, she nodded to herself. "Yeah, you can."

He opened the door and promptly looked down, pink beginning to appear on his cheeks.

"I hadn't thought you would be undressed." He mumbled. "I apologize."

"No, no, it's okay." She held her hands up. "I woke up a little bit earlier, it's fine."

"As I was meaning to tell you," he continued, strategically staring at the wall behind her, "the king requests your presence in the throne room immediately."

"Wha- really?" She blinked in disbelief. "What does he want?"

"I believe that's a question better suited for him." If there wasn't a hint of a smile on his face, she'd have missed the deadpan joke.

She laughed anyway. "I'll be right out, just lemme get dressed first."

Miles shut the door to give her privacy, and she got dressed faster than she thought she ever had in her entire life.

"This probably beats that time Eggman accidentally picked my tent instead of Sonic's," she muttered to herself as she brushed her teeth.

When she was ready, she slipped on some shoes and followed Miles to the throne room. As per usual, he only walked her up to the doors, but this time, he gave her a curt nod and began walking away.

"Are you... not allowed to be in here for this?" She called out uncertainly.

He paused, turning his head to look at her.

"This is a conversation I'm not suited for," he replied. Dare she say it, she could've sworn he winked at her! "I wish you luck."

Without any further explanation, he disappeared down the hall, and she was left dumbfounded.

"Alright, that was... weird." She muttered. She opened one of the doors and peered inside.

"You don't have to act like you're on a spy mission, y'know," the king's casual voice startled her, and she stared right at the throne, where he sat with his legs splayed over the armrest.

"I-I know," she huffed, an embarrassed heat flooding her cheeks. "Just wanted to see if I was intruding or not."

"Believe me, if you were, the guards wouldn't even let you get past the staircase." He scoffed. "You can come in, you know."

She suddenly remembered that she probably looked a little peculiar with only her head visible through the doorway, and she nodded, stepping inside and shutting it behind her.

She walked up to the throne and stood, curiously gazing at the young ruler.

"Sooooo..." she drew out the word, glancing nervously at the guards stationed around the throne. "What did you want?"

Scourge swung his legs over so that he was sitting properly and his expression grew more serious.

"Oh, yeah. That." He cleared his throat. "As you know, Pink, I'm nearly thirty and I'm still a bachelor."

"Yeah?" She rose an eyebrow at the nickname. "Nothing wrong with being single at that age."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I guess. But that leads to my next point: people expect me to either name an heir or name a successor to the throne."

She nodded. "And?"

"And I guess it's time I actually start doing that." He stood, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he stepped down until he was on the bottom step, staring right into her eyes.

"Do you mean you're gonna...?" She trailed off when he pulled his hands out.

"I like the way you're always one step ahead of me, Amy." He tried his best to smile softly at her, holding out a tiara with a single ruby in it. "D'you wanna... uh, marry me?"

She stared at the crown blankly. _Amy_ _has stopped working. Press any key to restart._

They both stood like that for about a minute before he tapped between her eyes, looking mildly concerned.

"Amy?" He asked, peering at her. "You good?"

She blinked, snapping out of it at the sound of his voice.

"Oh, uh yeah, sorry." She laughed nervously. "Kinda got lost in thought."

"So... do you have an answer?" He asked, looking at her with such hopeful eyes she almost felt guilt.

"I-I, uh..." She stumbled over her thoughts - and the words she was speaking.

 _"Why do I feel as if I'm about to make a life-changing desicion that will be a very bad idea in the long run?"_ She thought frantically, eyes shifting from the tiara, to Scourge, to the tiara again. _"On one hand, it would be pretty sweet to be queen over something..."_

 _"But... on the other,"_ she looked at Scourge again, _"Aren't I supposed to kinda hate this guy? I mean, he hates Sonic, and as an extention, the Freedom Fighters... but considering what Shadow told me last night..."_

 _"... nah, maybe I'm just tired."_ She shook off the thoughts and met his eyes.

"I, uh," she stuttered before sighing frustratedly. "Oh, hell, since I can't voice myself."

She took the tiara from his hands and gently placed it on her head, careful of her hairband.

He paused, an incredulous expression replacing his hope. "Uh..."

She stood, gesturing.

"... is that a yes?" He asked, nearly kicking himself one second later for the stupid question.

"Yeah, it is." She tried to smile at him, the nagging feeling that she was making a huge mistake slowly creeping across her mind.

 _"Shadow... am I making the stupidest decision of my rather short life?"_

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, I had to include the line from RTH in some way. I'm still proud of that line, even years after I posted the chapter.**

 **And there you go! Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you guys later!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Past

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Wow, two in one weekend? Impossible!**

 **Nah, but for real, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The somewhat-drying soil cracked in protest as another plant was ripped forcefully from its embrace.

It was a normal red-skies day, and as Amy glanced at the weeds that had grown in her absence, she sighed.

Only a few days after he'd dropped the bomb on her, and she still couldn't tell if this really was the stupidest thing she'd ever agreed to in her life.

 _"At least it's not as bad as the macaroni salad incident,"_ she thought to herself, a smile blooming when she thought of it. _"My word, I don't think I've ever seen Knuckles so pissed off."_

She bent down to pull at another weed.

She hummed a little tune while she worked. When the last weed had been pulled from the area, she stood up straight, groaning when her back popped.

"Another weed bites the dust," she sighed, satisfied with her efforts. "And I need to get something to eat soon."

She put her tools back in the gardening shed, went to clean up in her room, and finally went down to the dining hall.

She was surprised to see Miles nonchalantly sitting at the table, eating.

"Miles, hey," she greeted when he turned his head.

"I didn't think you'd be here at this time." He seemed equally stunned to see her, yet he didn't show it. He took a swig of water. "Were you hungry?"

"Yeah, actually." She was quick to answer before her stomach could growl again. "What do we have?"

"I just finished making some mac and cheese," Miles replied, gesturing to the kitchen. "Feel free to take some."

She giggled for a moment, masking it with a cough. "I, uh, didn't know you liked mac and cheese?"

He stopped eating temporarily to look at her with an eyebrow raised. "Who doesn't like macaroni and cheese?"

Before she could open her mouth, he hastily added, "Please, don't answer that."

She smiled. "I know a fair few people who hate macaroni, but not for the cheese."

He got a curious look. "Hm?"

"There was a certain macaroni salad incident a few months back." She explained, grabbing a bowl from the kitchen. As she spooned the mac and cheese in, she continued, "It was a terrible disaster. It was storming, children were crying, Eggman was horrified... That's the reason Knuckles and Tails avoid macaroni."

* * *

"Ah- _choo_!" A red echidna suddenly threw his head down in a violent sneeze.

"Good Chao, are you okay?" Rouge stopped reading for a few minutes to stare at him worriedly.

"I'm- I'm fine," he assured, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose. "I have the weirdest feeling that someone mentioned the _incident_ again."

"Don't be ridiculous, Knuck." She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder when he sat beside her on the couch. "We all agreed that it would never be spoken of again, unless it comes back."

* * *

"I... sense something evil surrounding the incident you've spoken of..." Miles said slowly. A tiny shiver went up his spine. "Something that would make even his highness blanch in horror."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad." She shrugged. "Not even Eggman wants to bring it up. It did manage to destroy a fair bit of his lair..."

* * *

Somewhere in Mobius, Eggman let out a sneeze so loud and vigorous, he accidentally smacked his head against a table and knocked himself out.

* * *

"Sounds... interesting." Miles looked a bit wary of it. "Is the mac and cheese good?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, it is!" She took another bite with a smile. "And you made this?"

"Yes." He nodded, a hint of pride lighting his eyes. "It's a recipe from the queen."

"Interesting." Amy sat next to him. "I don't think anyone's ever mentioned Scourge's mother before."

"It's a..." he hesitated. "... it's a rather sensitive topic. The last time anyone said her name, the king practically destroyed the throne room and hid in his chambers for two whole weeks."

"Scourge, or...?"

"Both." He nodded his head with a grim frown. "His highness was only six at the time. Rumors had spread that the queen was actually a rebel who only married the late king so she could spread her influence across Anti-Mobius. She left when his highness was only an infant, but he claims to have enough memory of her to miss her terribly."

"I see." Amy exhaled deeply. "So that's... no different from Sonic, after all."

"In many ways, yes." Miles shrugged. "In most, no. For instance, Mobian Sonic still has both of his parents, while his highness Scourge... nobody has seen Queen Bernadette since she vanished. For the past twenty-seven years, everyone has assumed she's deceased."

"That's horrible!" She exclaimed. "All this time... not a single trace? Didn't you look?"

"The king sent troops to search for her for a year." Miles replied, his eyes narrowing at the thought. "After a year, he gave up and never spoke her name again."

Amy sat there in stunned silence. _"All this time, if Scourge had only had his mother, everything could have turned out so differently... if only he hadn't had a single father, he probably wouldn't have snapped..."_

Miles cleared his throat, loud enough to snap her out of her thoughts. "I don't wish to keep discussing that far in the past with you, however. There are things I must let you know of if you really are to be marrying his highness."

One glance at his face made her stop chewing, swallow, and turn to face him fully. "Alright. What is it?"

* * *

"Shadow!"

Said lifeform didn't even turn when Princess Sally raced up to him, panting.

"What is it?" He grunted, opening his eyes.

"It's- it's about Amy," she gasped out. "I fear her mission may be compromised!"

More alert now, he turned his head to stare at the squirrel with an unknown expression.

"What's happened?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. "Why did you come to me first?"

"Because you're the only one who has the means to get there, genius," she shot back with a glare. "Listen and listen good. One of our spies from the other world has brought me terrible news about what's going on in the kingdom so far."

"Go on," he nodded.

"Scourge isn't just planning to invade using his reality-hopping device," she paused for a moment, "he's planning to marry Amy! This isn't for love, either! He wants to secure her loyalty so that she'll help him take down Sonic!"

His eyes opened wider. "What? When did this happen? I visited her just two days ago!"

"The morning after," she began to clench her teeth. "Apparently, Scourge called her in early and proposed."

She clutched her fur and tugged at it, crying out in despair, "I just can't believe she said yes! What is she _thinking_?!"

His jaw slackened, and his mouth gaped. "What _is_ she doing? This isn't part of the mission! Unless-"

"Unless she's either trying to sway him into stopping or trying to assassinate him?" Sally finished. "Fat chance! He'll have her locked away before that ever happens!"

"No, no, we may have an advantage." He spoke quickly, beginning to pace around the distraught princess. "Think about this. Your spy mentioned Rose's double, correct?"

"Yes?" Her face scrunched up in confusion.

"And we know about the attack plan, yes?"

"What does- oh-" Her eyes widened. "She may be preparing to counteract the invasion! Is _that_ why Scourge proposed?"

"We won't know unless we interrogate him first." Shadow's eyes flashed. "But this is a good start. I'll talk to her tonight and see what's happening for myself."

* * *

 **A/N: Dun dun dun! What's gonna happen next? And why is Rosy suddenly being mentioned again? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ba-**

 **Nah, just kidding. In all seriousness, I can't guarantee you'll get the next chapter until sometime in early-to-middle December, but please stay tuned! And yes, I am completely bullshitting Scourge's mother's backstory. If we ever find out what happened to her, then I'll be really happy. The world deserves to see an Anti-Bernadette! (I'm sure you also noticed me lampshading the macaroni salad incident. Who knows? Maybe after this book is done, I'll do a somewhat-sequel on the macaroni salad story.)**

 **Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you guys later!**


	9. Chapter 9: Plan C

**A/N: Hey, guys! I'm finally back! I've finally finished my exams, so now I have more time to post. Here's the long-awaited chapter 9. I really hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _"Rosy... she's back."_

Her visit with Shadow echoed in her brain as she got ready for bed that night.

She frowned to herself, brushing through her quills one last time before setting it on the bathroom counter and exiting, going for her bed.

Right when she'd grabbed the duvet to flip it open, the light flashed with a bright white light and she waited until it subsided to look at her visitor.

"Shadow," she greeted with a tiny smile. "How's Mobius?"

"You know I'm not here to speak about our world, Amy." While his expression was stern, his words carried an underlying disappointment.

She looked back down at her bed. "... yeah, I know. Go ahead and ask all the questions you want, and I'll try to answer."

"I only have a couple of them." Shadow replied, walking towards her to sit on the edge of her bed. "First, why? Why Scourge?"

Her hand clenched around the duvet. "I... I just felt like I had to. I'm here on a mission, and if making it easier means accepting a proposal from what was an enemy, then I'll do it."

"The princess gave you the mission so that you could find a way to stop him from breaching our world and taking it over." Very briefly did his voice turn colder, but he paused, catching himself.

"And if marrying Scourge will make it easier to find a solution, then yes, I will marry him." She shot back. "Why do you care so much about who I find myself with, anyway?"

"Because I-" he was cut off abruptly by Amy looking up at him with such a hurt expression that he sighed harshly.

"I..." he tried again, unclenching his fists when he realized. "I am- _we_ are worried. With everything I've told you so far, don't you think your friends will worry about what will happen to you?"

"Oh please, I wouldn't let him hurt me." She scoffed.

"It's Anti-Sonic, Amy." He deadpanned. "Reminder that, although twelve years has passed, it would still take a couple of skilled fighters fighting him at once to beat him."

"And reminder for you that I've been training my tail off for the past ten." She shot back, crossing her arms. "I wouldn't have accepted unless I had full confidence that I could hold my own, even for a while, in a fight."

"And what about your counterpart?" He pressed. "What will you do then? What would _Anti-Sonic_ do if she attacked you?"

"He's unpredictable," she answered smoothly. "I don't know. But I've beaten her before - albiet with help - and I'm pretty sure that if I had a guard or two on my side, I could do it again."

He shook his head, closing his eyes in frustration.

"Yes, I'm already aware that there's going to be no love in this marriage," she continued. Her heart clenched when she admitted it, but she swallowed the lump that had slowly begun to form and kept speaking. "But this is my decision, and my decision alone. I promised that I would find a way to both save our planet and save the people of Anti-Mobius, and I will do just that, no matter what it takes."

He stayed silent for a few moments more before staring her right in the eye. "What about Sonic?"

She immediately pictured his disappointment upon being told that she was married to one of his greatest enemies, and immediately shook her head. "Sonic would- he would understand- this is something I have to do. Right?"

Shadow didn't answer her.

"Besides," she continued, doubt trying to wash away any confidence she had in her choice, "Sonic doesn't see me that way. Sonic doesn't even love me. I have no choice but to pine from a distance, don't I?"

He only closed his eyes.

She sunk back against the headboard, covering her face with her hands.

"Oh, Mobius," she whispered. "What am I doing?"

She felt the tears rising. _"This is no time to cry!"_

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence between them, Shadow closed the gap and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Shadow...?" She uncovered her face to look up at him in confusion.

"No matter what happens from this night onward," he spoke quietly, giving her the tiniest of smiles, "I trust your judgement."

She stared at him in stunned silence for a few moments before she felt the tears clouding her vision. She gave him a watery smile and reached forward, burying her face into his chest as she hugged him tight.

"Thank you so much." She murmured, even though she didn't think he heard clearly. "This means so much to me. More than you could know."

* * *

The two stayed up until dawn talking about her engagement and the impending battle. While he seemed uneasy about her agreement to marry the tyrant, she assured him that she wouldn't let him do anything she didn't want.

* * *

"He said that the wedding would be within a week," she explained with a tense laugh. "There's so much to get ready for in that short timeframe."

"Definitely." Shadow nodded in agreement. "We'll need to mobilize our troops in order to squash the uprising. Have you spoken to Kintobor at all?"

"No, the thought didn't even cross my mind!" She realized with a gasp. "He's safe, right?"

"The princess has confirmed that yes, he is safe."

"Oh, thank Chao," she exhaled in relief. "Without him, this entire plan is a bust."

"Indeed." Shadow nodded, then rose to leave. "I assume what would be the sun is rising right now."

"Yeah, I'd better get up." She groaned when she lifted herself out of bed.

Right as he turned to go, he remembered something.

Turning to face her, he asked, "What purpose do you have in marrying Anti-Sonic?"

She froze for a moment, not anticipating the question. She thought about it, the answered.

"Because..." she bit her lip in thought. "I, uh, I figure that somehow, if I go through with this, maybe I can save both Mobius and Anti-Mobius."

He nodded, contemplating. "I see."

He uttered a 'Chaos Control' and disappeared right as she opened the curtains to greet the morning air.

* * *

"Miles." Scourge's voice bounced across the room.

Said fox looked up from what he was reading. "What?"

The hedgehog opened his mouth to say something, but a few moments later closed it, shook his head, and began to pace.

"Oh please, sire, you know how much I hate it when you pace in front of me." Miles groaned.

"And you know how much _I_ hate it when you call me 'sire'." He snapped back, pinching the bridge of his nose.

The two relapsed into silence for a few more moments.

"Miles."

He looked up again, more irritably this time. " _What_?"

"What am I gonna do?"

"What do you mean?" He rose an eyebrow at the king.

"What am I gonna do?" He repeated, firmer this time.

"You're going to get married, is what you're gonna do, my king." Miles replied with a roll of his eyes. "Is that what you wanted me to say?"

"I know I'm gonna get married, dipshit," he snarked back. "I'm- oh, never mind."

"You're having doubts," he deadpanned.

"Ye- I- no!" The male got even more frustrated, tugging at his quills in irritation.

"So then what's the issue?" Miles finally tore his eyes from the page, giving him an exasperated glare.

"I- _I don't know_!" He cried.

"Then _why_ are you pacing and complaining?" Miles yelled.

"Because I'm scared!" Scourge yelled back, effectively shutting up his right-hand fox. "Do you honestly think I'm ready to get _married_?"

"I believe that's what they call 'having doubts', sire," the blonde fox remarked dryly.

"I didn't tell you how I'm feeling just for you to mock me, Miles." His voice took a dangerous edge as he stalked closer.

"It's only the truth." He shrugged. "If you're going to complain about this, then I'm going to tell you how it is."

"Ugh, you're just so-" He groaned, collapsing against the couch. His sudden weight caused Miles to get thrown in the air slightly.

"Yes, I know, I suck." He sighed. "I've been a bachelor ever since I was handed the throne, and now I'm almost thirty and I need to marry someone or give someone the throne."

"The problem you face, I think," Miles sat the paper on the table and looked at him with such seriousness that he momentarily stopped fidgeting. "Is that you've been accustomed to being single for so long, your mind can't handle the thought of settling down and actually loving someone besides yourself for once."

"You had me until that last part." Scourge remarked. "That hurts, Miles."

"The truth is supposed to hurt," he snapped back. "It's been twelve years since your father died and you took the throne. What were you planning to happen?"

"I don't know, that I'd have someone I actually kinda like start pursuing me?"

"You've 'pursued' just about all of the single females in town!" Miles shouted. "The only option you had left was-"

"Don't say it!" Scourge yelled back. "She comes like a curse! If you say her name, she appears out of the shadows!"

"Then who else is there?" He rose his voice again. "Other than Amy Rose, you're doomed to a life of royalty!"

The shouting stopped for a few moments, their voices echoing away into silence.

"I admit, it was more fun at first." Scourge shrugged his shoulders, crossing his arms across his scarred chest. "Taking my old man's crown, ruling with an iron fist, squashing rebellions... that was the life for me."

"But you got older and wiser," his right-hand man pointed out, picking up the piece of paper once more.

"Yeah, and people finally realized that this was gonna be how they lived their lives..." He trailed off, running a hand through his quills with a deep sigh. "Plus, I put all of the rebels in prison, and nobody either successfully broke them out or even tried."

He stopped talking, shifting his gaze to the wall.

Miles managed to scan the map a few more times before the green hedgehog's arm landed on his shoulder. He only flinched once at the sudden touch, turning to look at him again.

He had the strangest look in his eye, and his face was too somber for his liking. The shadows cast about his face by the light made him appear ten years older.

"Don't look at me like that," he chastised gently, removing Scourge's arm from his shoulder. "This will be a successful move in the game. She won't even know what hit her."

"I just... I feel so frustrated that we had to resort to plan C," he groaned, taking off his sunglasses. "If _she_ hadn't made an appearance, we would've already been halfway through plan B."

"Plan B can wait until she's been taken care of." Patting the distraught king's back, he went to his plans again. "I'll alert the Suppression Squad and keep them in position."

Scourge stared at the wall again, this time a more determined expression on his face. _The wedding will go off without a hitch_ , he assured himself, _and this time, that brat will be gone for good._

* * *

 **A/N: Here you go! Be warned, the next couple of chapters will be kinda heavy on the characters and what they're feeling about it. Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you later!**


	10. Chapter 10: Loyalty Lines

**A/N: Sorry if it seems like this chapter is short.**

* * *

"One week," Amy muttered to herself as she tried on the veil. "One week, and everything changes."

A sudden knock at the door made her jump.

"Yes?" She called.

"Amy," Scourge's voice made her scramble to take off the veil and hastily shove it back into her wardrobe. "I need to talk to you."

"Y-You can come in," her voice grew quieter towards the end of the sentence, but he must've heard her anyway, because the door opened slowly.

"Huh, the room looks better than I remember." He hummed to himself, taking in the decor. "Still a little old-fashioned, but it works."

"Big surprise that you're visiting me yourself," she remarked calmly, turning fully to face him. "What's on your mind?"

He nodded and shut the door behind himself. "I needed to tell you something important."

"Well, what is it?" She asked.

"You see, I don't know if Miles has told you already, but-" he scratched the back of his neck, "- _the girl who shouldn't be named_ is back, and she wants to kill me again."

"Ohhh, yeah, he did tell me a few days ago." She nodded, raising an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"I was thinking that, maybe, we could... invite your friends to the wedding?" He forced out. Sonic's face flashed across his mind, and it took some self-control not to grimace at the fact that he was asking for help.

"You mean, as bodyguards?" She deadpanned.

"Yes, exactly."

She hummed in thought. While she didn't approve of throwing them into it - Chao knows how Sonic would react - she did admit that this made her plan a little easier.

She watched his face. The nervousness looked... genuine. Still, this was Scourge, or rather, Anti-Sonic, and she had to be on-guard around him even now.

"Sure," she finally shrugged her shoulders. "I don't mind. At least then, I'll be able to say my goodbyes."

He felt a little uneasy at that statement, but forced a smile anyway. "Great. I'll have invitations sent out immediately and Miles will cross to their world and pick them up the night before the wedding."

She tried to match his expression, but dark thoughts were swirling around in her brain. She knew she'd affected him with that ambiguous statement, and while a tiny piece of her was aglow in the fact that she made him nervous, a bigger part was worried.

 _What if... that is my goodbye?_ She thought miserably. _After my mission is over with, I may be trapped here forever... if Shadow doesn't continue to check. And if I get locked in prison for assassination..._

* * *

That night, she just couldn't sleep.

Although Shadow had told her - quite firmly, in fact - that he wouldn't visit her that night because she 'needed sleep', she yearned for his presence. It was a small comfort in this big, lonely place.

As she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, she heard the softest of knocks.

She sat up, trying to control her wily quills, and called out softly, "Come in."

A moment passed before the door opened, revealing Miles with a lamp in one hand.

"Oh, Miles." She greeted, confusion clouding her muddled mind. Why was he here?

"Sorry to disturb you so late, Amy," he began to speak as he shut the door, "but I felt the need to speak to you."

"Don't worry, you didn't wake me up." She shook her head with a tiny smile. "If anything, you'd be repulsed at how ugly I get in the morning."

A ghost of a smile went across his lips for a moment. "I'll have to make a note of that and send it to the king."

"You wouldn't!" She mock-gasped. She patted the end of her bed. "What did you want to talk about?"

He paused, his frown deepening. "It's about the king."

"Oh." She relaxed a little as he sat down, setting the lamp on the floor. "Huh. Seems to be a hot topic lately, eh?"

"You could say that, I suppose." He shook his head. "But regardless of what you might think, this affects more than just Mobius."

"Oh, is this about-"

"Yes, about her." He nodded quickly. "I apologize for interrupting you, but her name... every time someone's said her name out loud, she appears. At this moment, it would be stupid to accidentally 'summon' her here."

"Nothing happened when you told me the other day..." She rose an eyebrow.

"I used the name you know her as." He explained. "Nothing happens if you say Anti-Amy."

"Huh. Did Kintobor curse her or something?" She muttered. "Nah, he wouldn't have. He's too soft."

"Anyway," he continued, "I assume you're thinking that I'm going to tell you I know of your secrets."

"Secrets?" Her heart dropped for a moment. "I don't have any."

He hummed in thought, eyes lingering on her for a moment more than made her comfortable.

"What I'm actually going to tell you, however, is more important than your counterpart."

"What is it?" She pressed. "I'm dying of anticipation."

He chuckled mirthlessly at her tone. "I've been thinking about this for a while, and I feel that now is the right time to tell you. I've felt my preferences slipping for quite some time now, and I want you to know that whatever you do..."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what?" She rose her eyebrows. "What do you mean 'preferences'? You mean...?"

"My allegiance has begun to shift rapidly," he explained quietly. "I am no longer strictly loyal to the king."

"And..." her voice softened to match his volume, "you'd be willing to... to trust _me_?"

"Is there any reason why I _shouldn't_?" His pointed look made her shake her head rapidly.

"No, no, I'm not insinuating anything like that. It's just..." She exhaled slowly. "You trust me. Out of everyone, you trust _me_."

"I see no other person here fit to earn my trust, Rose." He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile. "Whatever you have to do, I support you."

 _Gee, this seems familiar,_ a voice snarked in her head when she felt something akin to a tightening of her throat.

"That's... really sweet. Thank you." She tried to smile at him.

"Changing topic," he cleared his throat into his fist. "It's come to our attention that she's growing more violent. She'll be here any day, although one should assume that she'll arrive the day of the wedding."

"That makes a ton of sense." She nodded seriously. "I mean, what better day to try and 'squish' the person who made you go crazy in the first place than the day when he's getting married? It's practically taking candy from a baby."

"Exactly." He nodded. "While everyone will be on-edge that day, I'll especially need your help in staving her off."

"What do you mean?" She rose an eyebrow. "I mean, I brought my hammer, but that was for self-defense-"

"Use that." He instructed. "Last time... she was able to break it, wasn't she?"

"Yeah, she did." Amy nodded. "It took me weeks to build another one, and that's not even mentioning the parts I had to cajole Tails into getting."

"In case that happens, take this." He handed something small, a box of some sort, to her, and she studied it for a few moments before placing it on the nightstand. "It may look useless now, but there's a button you can press and it turns into what could be described as a taser hammer with a sword inside, I suppose."

"A tammer sword..." She hummed. "Er, no, wait. A Hay-serd! Nah, that sounds stupid too."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to use it." His eyes seemed to smile. "Might I suggest Hazard?"

"That's perfect!" She grinned at the little box. "Hazard, mk 1. I like it!"

"I could give you the blueprints we used to create it, if you wish. Perhaps as a wedding present?"

"I'd love that, thanks." She reached forward, as if to hug him, but suddenly pulled back.

He stood, patting off his legs, before turning. "Our time is short. I have to go."

"It's been nice talking to you, Miles," her voice came out softer than she'd wanted, but it was enough to make him turn his head to look back at her.

Something akin to a smile tugged at his lips. "It's been a pleasure talking to you too."

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter out of the way! I promise, next chapter, things will begin to pick up more.**

 **Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you guys in chapter 11!**


	11. Chapter 11: RSVP

**A/N: Hey, guys! Guess who finally makes an appearance? See you at the bottom!**

* * *

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails yelled, waving an envelope in his hand. "You've got mail!"

"Mail, huh?" He wondered to himself, hopping off the boulder he'd been sitting on. "Who's it from?"

"Um..." Tails squinted at the letter. "This handwriting is so precise, yet I still can't read it! It's from... Amy?"

"Whoa, what?" Sonic took the letter from Tails's hands and studied it. "No, this isn't her handwriting."

"Then do you think...?"

Both of them shared grim looks.

"Only one way to find out." The Blue Blur tried to rip it carefully, but still ended up tearing the paper too far. He huffed, but gingerly took out the paper within the envelope.

"To whom it may concern," he began to read, allowing Tails to lean in further, "you are hereby invited to the... wedding..."

"Scourge and Amy?" Tails cried out. "What the heck?"

Sonic felt a numbness spreading through his body as he stared at the perfect handwriting. A new bolt of anger surged through his veins, and he ripped the letter in half.

"Sonic!" Tails gaped. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" He spat, hurt creeping up his throat and threatening to manifest itself as tears. He turned away so that the fox couldn't see his face. "I'm going for a run. Call me if anything happens with Egghead."

He sped away, ignoring Tails's calls for him to wait. The two halves of the letter fluttered in his wake, falling gently to the ground.

* * *

"Okay, emergency meeting," Knuckles said with a sigh. "How many of us knew that Amy was getting married?"

Only a couple of hands went up. Sally was one of them, staring guiltily at the floor.

"Why did you keep it a secret, Sal?" Cream asked, trying to discretely wipe her eyes dry.

"Because... because I felt that if Amy wanted to do this, then it was her decision to tell, not mine." She answered slowly.

"So that means keeping this crucial detail from literally everyone allied with you?" Tails asked incredulously. "Sally, we could've-"

"If you had known, what do you think Sonic would have done?" She asked him pointedly, staring him right in the eyes.

The fox closed his mouth, seeing her point.

She nodded once, firmly, and addressed the room of worried animals. "Guys, right now Amy is in that other world, getting ready for a wedding which she probably doesn't want. We've been called in as both guests and as soldiers for a tyrant whom we want to take down. If I had told you the truth, wouldn't you have gone straight to Shadow and demand that he take you to Amy to stop her, or at the very least try to persuade her to do anything else?"

The group of friends sat silently.

"Exactly. We need to be there for her right now." She declared. "We have no idea what her full plan is, and it'll probably stay that way until we take down Rosy. We need to help her. The wedding is in two days, and Anti-Tails will be coming to take us to Anti-Mobius tomorrow night."

The door opened, and everyone turned to see Bernadette and Sonic standing there.

"I know what you're gonna say," he began when someone opened their mouth to speak. "I've calmed down, thanks to Bernadette. I want to help."

"And how do we know that you're going to stay calm through this?" Knuckles asked, eyebrow raising incredulously. "How do we know that you won't go berserk?"

He grit his teeth. "Don't you trust me?"

"You yelled at Shadow when he told you about his talks with Amy and threatened to team up with Eggman and go to Anti-Mobius, steal her back, and off Scourge with your own hands." The echidna spat. "Dude, you're so jealous I bet Amy could feel it from here."

"I-" He struggled to defend himself. "Scourge is almost thirty years old! Amy's only 24! He's not good for her!"

"That doesn't excuse you making murder threats!" Knuckles shouted back. "Besides, aren't you 25? Your argument is invalid, Mr. Cradle Robber!"

"Guys! Guys!" Bernadette cried, getting between them as Sonic took a step forward. "This is not the time to be arguing! We need to form a plan to help them both!"

"I agree." Sally stood up and directed a pointed stare at both of them. "Sonic, you're acting like a jealous, selfish boy. What we need to be doing is making a plan to protect both of them and get Scourge thrown in jail at the same time."

He snapped his head up to her, ears already reared back. When his icy green eyes met her determined blue ones, he stopped for a moment.

"Trust that Amy has this under control," Her voice was slow, deliberate, and her tone was as even as she could make it. "Trust that she has a backup plan in case we get into a situation where we can't do anything."

He sighed harshly, but when Bernadette placed a hand on his shoulder, his rigid stance softened, and he slumped forward. Knuckles caught the princess's eyes and nodded once, folding his arms across his chest and sitting back down.

"Thank you." She let out a shuddery sigh, trying to will the jittery adreneline away. "Now, back to our discussion."

"Right." Knuckles nodded. "When we go to their world tomorrow night, of course, keep a low profile. If it's really true that Rosy is planning to assassinate Scourge on his wedding day, we'll need to be ready for anything."

"Should we be disguised?" Someone called out.

"Perhaps," Tails replied, eyes flicking over to Sonic. "Sonic would have to be disguised for sure."

"Yeah, it wouldn't do much good for either them or us if she mistook Sonic for Scourge and tried to kill him first."

"Of course not." Now calm, he laughed nervously. "You wouldn't let her do that... right?"

"Of course we wouldn't, Sonic." Cream turned to give him a weird look. "Why would we let our friend get attacked?"

He opened his mouth, but then closed it. "... Never mind."

* * *

"Everything is going to plan, isn't it?" Amy asked nervously, pacing around the room. She and Miles had taken to talking with one another late at night. Sometimes, Shadow had joined them - rather reluctantly - but the fox mostly visited her when he wouldn't be talking to her.

"Yes, so far." He nodded, watching her from the chair by the vanity. "Your friends have gotten the invitations. Tomorrow night, I'll be showing them to their quarters."

"Are any of them going to be in this wing?" She asked, shifting her eyes from him to the window, to him again.

"Only the females." He nodded. "The males will be in the south wing."

"Oh, good. That's-" she nodded, letting out a deep sigh, "-that's good."

"You're worried about a confrontation." He said simply.

"Of course." She exhaled once more, pausing in her pacing to cross her arms. "I couldn't even- I didn't even tell Sonic about it. He's probably beside himself with rage finding out through a wedding invitation."

He nodded contemplatively. "Of course. There was some modicum of trust between you two and he thought you could tell him everything."

"Yeah," she agreed. She sat down on her bed, her shoulders sagging. "I feel bad for not telling him, but... I don't know if he would have taken it well, even if I'd told him."

"Yeah, that... complicates things." He sighed. "I apologize for not allowing you to contact them earlier."

"No, that's okay..." She tried to smile at him, but her eyes looked watery in the limited light. "Whatever happens, happens."

He frowned, standing from the stool. "Miss Rose..."

He walked over to her and hesitantly reached out. When she looked up at him, he awkwardly wrapped an arm around her in a side-hug.

She started in surprise, but when he let go, she grabbed his hand and held it tightly, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Your support means a lot to me," she said quietly.

"I appreciate your positive feelings towards me." He smiled gently. "Whatever I have to do from this night forward, I'll do it... unless you have murder in mind, of course."

"Of course, of course," she echoed with a short laugh. "I'd never ask you to be my accomplice in some sort of assassination plot."

He gave a wry smile. "I don't doubt that your world's Sonic will have at least something in mind."

She grew quiet, a frown blooming on her face. "Gosh, I... I don't want to think about seeing him again. I know it's only been a few weeks, but..."

He listened as she began to stumble over her words, watching her grow more frustrated as she tried to think.

"I-" she took a deep breath, took a moment, and tried again. "When I left Mobius, I was single, Vanilla was recovering from a broken bone, and everyone was... well, Sonic seemed to be getting happier."

He nodded.

"But now..." she heaved another sigh. "Now, I guess I'm getting married, Vanilla's in the hospital from another attack by Eggman, and Sonic's probably furious that the guy I'm marrying happens to be his 'evil half', I suppose."

Miles nodded contemplatively. "You're having doubts."

She squinted into the darkness. "Yeah, guess I am."

"If you're really so distressed, then I'll let the king know that you-"

"No!" She cut him off with a quick movement, her eyes going wide. "No, that's not what I meant at all!"

He rose an eyebrow. "Then what is it?"

"Everything changes after tomorrow." She said, mostly to herself. "Tomorrow, my friends - my family - will be here to help me protect my fiance, a man I'm supposed to hate, and one who's seemed hellbent on destroying everything I love. Yet... I don't hate him. Well, not anymore."

Miles frowned a bit at the confession, but gestured for her to continue.

"I don't exactly know when it happened, but..." she bit her lip for a few moments. "... I started seeing him less like a ruthless monster that only cared about giving himself pleasure, to seeing him as a hurt, lonely man who just wants someone who cares about him."

She suddenly remembered who she was talking to, and she sharply turned to Miles with a worried frown. "No offense, of course!"

"None taken." He waved it off. "Literally everything you've said about him is true. Especially the 'caring about only loving himself' part."

"You don't mind if I badmouth your boss like this?" She stared, incredulous. "You don't care that I'm trash-talking your friend?"

"Calling the two of us 'friends' is a bit of a loaded statement," he sighed. "I don't know what we are. We're past king and servant, but we're not quite good friends. He... trusts me with... watching the prisoners, I guess?"

"Hm." She stroked her chin. "Weird."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm terribly sorry if I bored you with any of this. I promise, the next chapter will have more action in it.**

 **Please tell me how I did, feel free to speculate on what'll happen (especially between Scourge, Sonic, and Amy, because holy mackerel is that a horribly complicated love-Y), and I'll see you guys later!**


	12. Chapter 12: Moonless Confession

**A/N: Merry Christmas, guys! Sorry I didn't get this out sooner. I've been busy hanging out with the fam.**

 **Sorry if it seems like there are too many perspective skips. I promise, next chapter will have a little less... hopefully.**

* * *

The day went by slowly... too slowly.

Amy found herself glancing at her watch every five minutes, groaning to herself when the time just wouldn't speed up.

Scourge, too, was irritated that the day waxed long. He paced up and down in his quarters, too anxious to calm down. He refused to eat much of anything, thoroughly annoying Miles with his behavior.

Finally, when sunset drew near, Miles left the castle. Amy didn't know where he was going, but when she saw him striding through the village, she got a sinking feeling.

He was supposed to be prepared for this.

Sonic paced up and down the park yet again, his teeth chewing at his bottom lip.

"Sonic, please, stop pacing and sit down." Cream pleaded quietly. "We're all worried."

He glanced at her for a moment, but thankfully, he stopped and slumped to the grass near Tails, drawing his knees to his chest.

Tails patted his shoulder and went back to scanning the area with his eyes.

Shadow appeared only a few moments later, folding his arms as he stood over where Rouge was sitting. Knuckles shifted a bit when he realized, but when Rouge took his hand in hers, he relaxed.

"Are we all here?" The princess asked, stepping off the sidewalk and onto the grass as she shrugged a tote bag off her shoulder.

Tails counted everyone twice before nodding. "Yep, we're all here."

"Good." She nodded. "It's almost seven. Miles should be here any moment."

Sonic managed to suppress a sigh as he got up again, pointedly ignoring the looks from Cream and Tails.

 _"What if we fail?"_ He thought to himself, staring into the darkening night sky. _"What if... what if Amy fails? No, she wouldn't fail... but still... what if she disappears forever?"_

Finally, their tension was assuaged a bit when a sudden flash of light encompassed the park.

Sonic turned his back to the light until it faded, and then turned to see Miles standing there with a serious expression, as usual.

"Good evening, Mobians." He said stiffly, turning to look at the portal swirling next to him. "I believe it's time."

* * *

The clock was getting unbearable.

Amy growled to herself, glaring at the infernal machine.

"Stop mocking me," she hissed at the clock face. It read only 10:16.

She paced for a few minutes more before deciding to leave her room.

She walked down the hallway until she stopped at a window, where she watched the night sky. She just happened to be looking when she saw Miles in the gardens below, with a group of people.

She gasped, turning to race down the hall towards the throne room.

* * *

Scourge narrowed his eyes when the doors opened. "So you got here safely."

Miles nodded, bowing to his king. "Of course. I brought you the Mobians."

Knuckles and Rouge looked around the throne room, tightly hand-in-hand. Cream looked like she'd skipped quite a few nights of sleep. Tails held a neutral expression, close behind the rabbit with his hand on the belt around his waist, where his blaster was holstered. Shadow walked stiffly, a frown on his face. When the group came to a stop, he folded his arms across his chest.

And Sonic... Sonic walked with eyes narrowed into a slight sneer at his counterpart.

Scourge stood from his throne, adjusting his jacket lazily.

"Alright, listen up." His voice filled the room, demanding. "Miles will show you to your rooms. Females and males will be in different wings, don't fight me on this."

Cream hesitantly rose her hand.

"Question. Yes." He pointed to her. "You."

"I-Is... is Amy in the girls' area?" She asked timidly.

"Yeah. The girls will be staying in the wing where Amy is." He gave her a brisk nod. "There are a ton of guest rooms in those sides."

Knuckles rose his next.

"Yes."

His eyebrows dipped into a frown. "Why, exactly, are you splitting us up?"

"Good question." Scourge said wryly. "Reasons."

"You can't even explain to us?" Sonic asked, mild irritation in his voice.

Scourge's blue eyes fell on the hedgehog, and his lips tugged into a wry grin.

"Nice to see you again, Sonic." His voice took a sarcastic tone. "I can't tell you right now, mostly because of a concerning situation. I'll tell you all later in the battle room."

He sighed harshly, but didn't say a word more.

"Miles, show 'em their rooms." He waved off his servant, sitting back down on the throne.

Just as the fox was about to leave, Amy opened the doors and gasped.

"Cream!" She cried out, embracing the rabbit tightly. "You made it!"

"Amy, I'm so glad to see you." Cream's lip trembled, but she hid her face in Amy's neck to prevent anyone from seeing the emotion.

"Amy." Sonic was at her side at an instant, grabbing her shoulders. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm fine." She was surprised at that. "I'm not captured, I'm not beaten... everything's fine."

He didn't seem too convinced, but hugged her tight for a moment. "I'm... I'm just so glad to see you in person."

She smiled slightly, patting his back. "I missed you too, Blur."

* * *

Later that night, after everyone had been settled in, Amy walked out into the grounds to sit among the flowers.

She sighed quietly to herself, slumping onto a bench while she looked up at the sky.

"Is this a mistake?" She mumbled to herself, hiding her face in her hands. "What if nothing works...?"

"Ames?" The sudden voice made her jump. Whirling around in her seat, she spotted Sonic walking up to her through the bushes.

"What the hell, Sonic?" She hissed, clutching her heart. "You scared the Rings outta me!"

"Sorry, sorry." He chuckled, sitting next to her. "Something on your mind?"

"I guess." She shrugged, looking back up at the black night sky. "I'm a little nervous about tomorrow."

"Anyone would be." He scooted an inch closer, turning his body so that he could look directly at her. "I mean, you're twenty-four, still in your prime, and you're getting married."

"I still can't believe it." She gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"None of us can." Sonic laughed with her, casting her a pleasant smile. "I mean, I can't."

"That's because I'll forever be that weird little hedgehog that chases you and begs for a date, right?" She joked, although a tinge of frustration leaked into her voice. "To be honest, I think they'd be more shocked if you suddenly announced that you were getting hitched."

"Nah, not me." He agreed with a 'heh'. "I don't know if I'll ever settle down."

"Yeah... we know." She looked away, a frown overshadowing her face. "We know."

"Hey." He gently grabbed her face, turning it so that he could look into her eyes. "I haven't completely written it off, Ames."

"But why wait?" She asked. "We won't be young forever."

"Sometimes it seems like... I dunno... I don't want someone I love to worry themselves half to death about my safety." His thumb brushed across her cheek, and the movement wasn't lost on the rosette.

"We already worry ourselves sick for you, Sonic." She reprimanded. "I know I have... so many times."

"I can't say I don't appreciate it." He smiled, something that almost seemed... adoring. "I worry about you too. Every battle."

"I'm flattered." She gave a half-smile. "I guess tomorrow, you'll have to worry more than you ever have before."

"Yeah, I guess I will." His expression suddenly became serious. "Listen, Ames, if this truly is our last night together as friends- no, as- well, never mind that, there's something I need to tell you."

She winced when he mentioned 'friends', but she forced a smile anyway. "What did you need to tell me? It can't wait until tomorrow morning?"

"No." He shook his head. "This is the last time we can be alone so that I can tell you."

"Well, alright then." She rose an eyebrow. "What is it?"

He slid off the bench, getting on his knees in front of her. He let go of her chin and clasped her hands gingerly in his, almost as if he thought she would break if he squeezed them.

"Ames, in case neither of us leaves the battle in once piece tomorrow, or in case everything goes according to plan," He gazed earnestly into her eyes. "I..."

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "I love you!"

When her mouth fell agape, he opened his eyes and gazed into her wide amaranth ones, tugging her hands to his chest.

"There hasn't been a day I haven't thought about you. I've loved you since the incident, and I've worried about you far longer." With every sentence, he gently shook her hands in his.

"I..."

"Please, don't do this." He pleaded. "Call it off, assassinate him, come back to Mobius. I'll date you. Just please..."

She grew uncomfortable with every beg, and finally cut him off by getting her hand free and pressing her index finger to his lips.

"Sonic..." Her voice was quiet, trembling with hidden emotion, "... I can't."

"What do you mean?" He asked when she removed her finger.

"I can't." She stared back at him, more determined. "I can't call off this mission."

"Why?" He demanded, frowning slightly. "Has he coerced you? Threatened you? Manipulated you?"

"No, no, and no!" She gasped, almost offended. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's an evil tyrant who needs to be stopped!" He insisted. "Amy, think about this! He's obviously planning to destroy everything we love! What better way to do that than to marry you and then force you into servitude or kill you?"

"I have thought about it!" Her voice rose, but she closed her eyes to calm herself before continuing. "Stop talking to me like I'm that twelve-year-old girl who doesn't know anything except that she loves Sonic with all her heart!"

"Amy..."

"No." She shook her head vigorously, pulling her hand free from his. The tears threatened to spill over her eyes, and she turned away from him so he couldn't see her wiping them away. "Sonic, please, let's not talk about this."

"But... but Amy-"

"I loved you too." She whirled around to stare at him, tears dribbling freely down her flushed cheeks. Her eyes narrowed. "But now? I don't know how much I'd still love you romantically."

She let out a wry laugh as she turned away again. "Confession noted, Sonic. Good night."

She stormed away before he could do anything but call after her. "Ames! Amy, wait!"

* * *

 **A/N: And scene! Fun fact: I was originally going to make this a cliffhanger.**

 **Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you guys later!**


	13. Chapter 13: Wedding Day

**A/N: Whoa, finally, here's part one of the wedding! Don't worry, guys, I won't leave you on a cliffhanger for long.**

 **Just to let you know in advance, this will be a heavily flashback-oriented chapter. Sorry if it seems to cut back and forth too much.**

* * *

The day began early for everyone in the castle.

After getting only a minimal amount of sleep, Amy was awoken just after dawn by a knock at her door. When she got up to see who it was (secretly dreading seeing Sonic again), she was greeted by a nervous Cream.

The two sat on her bed to talk for a while. The rabbit was worried for Vanilla and had a nightmare the previous night about her death at the hands of a Moebian.

Amy had been concerned, of course, and talked her through it. Eventually, they both fell asleep on her bed, Cream held in Amy's arms in a protective embrace.

A little after ten AM, Rouge knocked on her door.

* * *

"Amy?" Rouge called softly, knocking a little louder. "Amy, I'm here to help you get ready."

When she recieved no answer, she sighed.

"I'm coming in," she announced. She opened the door, only to see Amy holding Cream close.

She smiled softly at the moment. _"Cream must've had another nightmare."_

She closed the door behind herself, treading softly across the floor to start getting things ready.

She opened the wardrobe, pulling out the wedding dress and hooking the hanger on the mounted hook on the inside of the door. She left the veil and set the shoes on the floor.

She stared at the dress for a few moments, emotions running high.

"I can't believe it," she murmured softly to herself, reaching out to gently run her fingers across the satin fabric. "Our Amy's getting married..."

Across from her, Cream stirred from her sleep.

As her eyes blinked open, she looked up groggily to see Rouge looking back at her.

She yawned silently, trying not to wake Amy. She managed to get out of the hug and stood up, stretching.

"Good morning, Rouge," she whispered. "Amy had a rough night."

"I can tell." The older woman nodded with a pained look. "Sonic?"

"Sonic." Cream let out a sigh. "It was pretty bad."

She hummed. "We need to start getting her ready. The wedding is at noon, right?"

"Yeah, it is." Cream took another look at her, frowning at the dark bags under her eyes. "As much as I want to let her sleep..."

"Can't be late to her own wedding." Rouge finished. She exhaled deeply through her nose. "I'll go run the bath."

"With extra scented oil?" The rabbit asked.

"Yep." Rouge smiled. "Ask her what scent Scourge likes, and I'll see if she has it."

When Rouge shut the bathroom door, Cream began to gently shake Amy awake. "Amy, wake up."

She let out a soft noise and turned, squinting blearily at her. "Oh... hey, Cream. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did." She smiled. "Thank you."

"No problem." Amy shut her eyes again.

"Amy, c'mon, it's time to get up." Cream laughed. "Remember? The wedding is today?"

When the words were out of her mouth, Amy's eyes snapped open and the rabbit barely had enough time to get out of the way as she sat up sharply.

"What time is it?" She asked frantically, scrubbing at her eyes with her fists.

"It's only ten. Don't worry."

"Only ten?! The wedding's at noon!" She cried, flipping the covers off.

"Rouge is starting the bathwater. What scented oil does Scourge like?" Cream asked.

Amy paused for a moment before her cheeks flared up in a dark pink warmth. "Uh... I think he's told me that he really likes the rose one..."

"Classic, got it." Cream ushered her towards the bathroom. "Quick, take a shower, and I'll get the oil."

"Thank you so much, Cream." She gave the girl a tight hug for a few seconds. "This means a lot to me."

"You're welcome." The girl felt a lump forming in her throat, but she returned the happy look. "But save the thanks when you're walking down the aisle and Scourge is rendered speechless, okay?"

The warmth grew and she nodded, almost shyly. "Yeah."

She began to strip off her nightgown, calling, "The scented oils are in the cabinet."

"Okay!" Cream walked in with her, but entered the separate room with the bathtub. Sure enough, there was a cabinet next to the door with several scented oils in it.

"Which one did she say?" Rouge asked, turning off the water. The tub was pretty full, and was hot due to the steam in the room.

"Rose oil." She smiled. "Ten guesses as to why, and the first nine don't count."

Rouge chuckled. "Oh-ho, I see."

Cream handed the bottle to her and she put a few drops in the water. She stirred it with her hand and took a good whiff of it.

"Mmm..." She groaned. "No wonder he likes it so much. This smells amazing."

Cream smelled it and smiled. "Yeah, that's some high-quality oil."

"Clearly, either she bought it herself, or Scourge got it for her." The bat winked. "I wouldn't be surprised if he got it. He probably wanted to get her something that smelled like her name."

"That's... surprisingly sweet." Cream cooed.

Just then, the door opened, and Amy stepped in with a towel wrapped around herself.

"I'm ready." She gingerly stepped into the tub, sighing in content at the heat of the water. "You remembered how I like bathwater?"

"Of course," Rouge scoffed with a teasing grin. "Why wouldn't I?"

She merely giggled, handing her the towel and sitting down, sinking in clear to her neck.

"This feels so nice," she moaned. "I can feel my stress melting away."

"Did Scourge get you this?" Cream asked, showing her the bottle. "It seems like it came from that pricey store you never go to."

Her cheeks grew hotter, and she looked away. "... Yeah, he did, actually. He thought that I might like it. I guess he sent Miles to get it?"

"Sure seems like _he_ likes it," Rouge gently nudged her with her elbow, giving her a wink.

"Only in an offhanded comment," she protested weakly.

"We'll leave you to your privacy, but we'll need to start on your outfit soon." The bat patted her shoulder and led Cream out of the bathroom.

* * *

 _"Hey, Pink." Scourge's voice snapped her out of her comfortable silence, and she turned on her knee to see him standing a few feet away. "I have a question."_

 _"Well, what is it?" She asked as he came closer._

 _"I was wondering, what do you want me to call you?" He asked. "I mean, sure I call you Pink, or Pinky, but those are nicknames more than anything."_

 _She hummed in thought, turning back towards the flowers to finish watering one. "How about just calling me Amy? We're close enough that you don't have to just resort to either calling me a nickname like 'Pink' or calling me by my last name."_

 _He nodded contemplatively. "Amy. Got it. Sounds weird for me to say, but it works."_

* * *

"Now that you're dry, let's fit you into this dress." Rouge handed her the soft, white clothing and helped her put it over her head.

She fiddled with the fabric, adjusting it into place. The ends were draped over her feet, and she had to hold up the skirt so it wouldn't touch the carpet.

She looked at it in the mirror and awed. "It's... it's even nicer on me than I thought."

It was a sleeveless white gown with a sweetheart neckline. The top came to a point, like a corset, and the skirt flared out in a tulip-shape with a sheer, sparkling fabric overlay. Red fabric roses decorated the left side of the gown, a red band wrapping around the corset point and ending in a bow in the back.

Rouge helped her tie the bow and stepped back, her emotions catching in her throat.

Amy turned to look at her. "It looks good, right?"

"Of course it does." Cream stepped forward, admiring it. "It's beautiful."

"I bet he picked it out with some reference to your name," she giggled when she caught the petals of one of the flowers between her index finger and thumb.

Rouge shook her head and smiled. "At least he kept to a theme."

* * *

 _"Ames, are you okay?" Sonic frantically shook her, trying to get her to open her eyes. "Ames! Amy!"_

 _She groaned, opening one eye with some difficulty. She grinned. "I'm okay, see?"_

 _"You're hurt." He frowned. "Looks like Egghead did a number on your face."_

 _"Explains why it hurts when I try to open my left eye." She quipped, wincing when she tried to move her hand. "I think my hand's broken."_

 _He grimaced at the bone sticking out at an odd angle amidst the swelling. "Yeah, the best I can say is 'no shit'."_

 _She laughed._

 _He picked her up in his arms, making sure she was holding on tight with her uninjured hand, before racing away from the battle._

 _She buried her face in his shoulder, closing her eyes._

* * *

"You... you're beautiful." Cream's mouth went agape. "Rouge, you're a makeup witch!"

"So I've been told." The woman smiled, putting away the lipstick. "Do you feel as gorgeous as you look yet, or do I need to work some more magic on you?"

Amy opened her eyes and stared at herself in the mirror. "Whoa. Rouge."

"I'll take that as a 'Yes Rouge, I feel like the most beautiful woman in the world'. My work here is done." She laughed, unclipping the apron from the nape of her neck. "Well, your quills and makeup are done."

"It's eleven-fifteen right now." Cream checked her watch with a sigh. "What do you want to do now?"

"Miles will be coming to bring me down to the throne room soon," she replied, looking down at the white heels she wore. "Is the princess somewhere?"

"Yeah, she should be in her room right now." Cream hopped up from the bed. "Do you want to see her?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." Amy gave her a weirdly sad smile.

She nodded and quickly made her way out of the bedroom.

Rouge sighed, sitting next to her. "Having cold feet?"

"Now how would you know?" She teased. After a few moments, she sighed. "Yeah, terrible."

"I can't exactly relate to this situation, mostly because Knuckles wasn't the enemy of our entire world when I married him, but I can understand the doubts you're having." She gently placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"What if everything goes so smoothly that I actually marry him?" She asked. She almost covered her face with her hands, but she remembered at the last moment that she had makeup on. Instead, and huffed another sigh and clasped her hands together, resting her chin on them. "Of course I'll have to make arrangements with him, whether he wants me to live here with him or not... but..."

"Sonic made you have more doubts, didn't he?" Rouge asked in the silence.

Amy didn't answer right away.

Cream suddenly opened the door, announcing cheerfully, "I brought Princess Sally!"

Amy fixed a smile on her face when the squirrel came into view. "Sally, hey."

"Hey yourself, queen-to-be." She gave her a quick hug before releasing and grabbing her hands. "You're so beautiful! Rouge did your makeup, didn't she?"

"Quills too." Amy nodded. "Sorry that I had to ask you to be a bridesmaid so late last night."

"No worries." She waved it off, gesturing to the dress she wore. "I like the dresses you picked out. Stylish, yet with pockets."

"I nearly flipped when I found out." She laughed. "Perfect for concealing weapons, since none of us noticed them at first."

The three bridesmaids had a laugh about it.

A soft knock came to the door, and Sally opened it to reveal Miles in formal attire.

His eyes softened when he saw Amy. He held out his arm. "I believe it's time to escort you. Are you all ready?"

They all heard the unspoken statement. _There's no going back after this._

They glanced at each other and Amy nodded, standing up. She flipped the veil over her face and Cream grabbed the train.

"We're ready." She replied in a determined voice, almost as if trying to will the courage through her voice.

* * *

Scourge had just gotten into place on one side of the dais, standing before his throne. He fiddled with his tie once again before patting it flat.

Tails stood with Knuckles and Sonic on the steps below. He glanced at the echidna, who clapped a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"It'll be fine," he murmured in a low voice. "Amy will be fine."

He gave a grimacing half-smile and continued to face the front, trying not to focus on the faces of the people staring at them.

The priest coughed into his hand. "Your highness, are you sure this isn't a joke again? Because if this is like your twenty-third birthday-"

"No, no, I assure you, this is real." Scourge was quick to answer. "She's coming."

Tails noted the anxious note of his voice and briefly wondered on the 'twenty-third birthday'. _"Did his previous bride bail on him?"_

Suddenly, the doors opened and the people stood in reverence.

* * *

 _"Scourge, what the hell did you get up to?" Amy shouted, hands on her hips._

 _"Oh, so you found out." He groaned, sitting up. "Dammit, Miles, why'd you tell her?"_

 _"She was worried," his right-hand man stated bluntly. "I told her that she could see you when you regained consciousness."_

 _"Oh." The king slumped back onto the mattress. "In that case, tell the nurse I'll go ahead and go into a coma for the next fifteen years."_

 _"You big baby, I'm not here to scream at you about how stupid you were acting." She rolled her eyes, smacking him in the chest._

 _He yelped, sitting back up. "Hey, hey, injured patient here!"_

 _"When you pull stupid stunts like that, you don't get to pay the patient card." She retorted, folding her arms. "The only thing I'd like to know is why you thought you'd go investigate a sudden rebellion alone."_

 _"I got the news in the middle of the night, I wasn't getting enough sleep at that point, and I was cranky." He listed off. "Happy? You know why."_

 _"That's still such a not-you move!" She said, giving him a withering look. "At least warn me next time, so that you can call for backup if necessary!"_

 _Both Scourge and Miles froze in surprise at her admission._

* * *

When Miles had gotten to the bottom of the staircase, he paused and looked up at Amy.

The girl looked back at him with a curious look. "What is it? Did my lipstick smudge?"

He shook his head. "No, your makeup is fully intact. I just... you have no idea how proud I am today."

"Of me?" She rose an eyebrow.

"No, of the king." He replied, turning his entire body towards her. "I've seen how happy you make him. Whatever course of action you take today, please... try not to hurt him as much as you can."

She nodded, the lump in her throat forming again. She leaned down to hug him, rendering him stiff in surprise.

"You've been such a good friend to me." She whispered, not trusting her voice. "Thank you."

He smiled, a genuine smile, and wrapped his arms around her, patting her back.

"I believe you may save us all today, miss Rose." He said as soon as their embrace broke. He let her grab his arm once more. "Either way, once we step foot in the throne room, a new era begins."

* * *

Scourge could hardly keep from staring agape when he lay eyes on Amy.

"Rouge did an amazing job, Knuck!" Tails whispered to the echidna.

"Yeah, she did." He beamed with pride at his wife, who caught his eye and winked.

Amy kept her eyes straight ahead, pointedly not looking at the stunned blue hedgehog, although she managed a smile at the starstruck groom as she drew near.

Sonic tried not to stare enviously at the king and instead focused on the crowd. Something seemed... off.

As his eyes scanned the awed faces of the townspeople, he saw a familiar pair of blue eyes. Wait... could it be...?

As the priest began speaking, he turned his head to look. Amy and Scourge held hands, the bridesmaids lined up on the steps to face the people.

He glanced at Rouge, catching her mouthing something to Knuckles. The Echidna nodded, a serious look on his face. The next thing he did was lean in to whisper to Sonic, "Be ready. Rouge saw someone suspicious."

He nodded and kept looking.

There! He saw it! Someone seemed to be moving through the crowd.

He turned back for a second to look at the priest. He was still going through his lines, although he seemed to have sped up his speech.

Amy looked antsy, and Scourge's face was unreadable, although he kept sneaking glances to Amy, and his eyes took on a more adoring look.

He grit his teeth. To distract himself, he tried to spot the figure with blue eyes again.

* * *

"-do you, King Scourge, take Amy Rose to be your lawfully wedded wife and queen for as long as you both shall live?"

He glanced over at his bride again before nodding to the priest. "Yes, I do."

The priest turned now to Amy with a bit of hesitance in his face. "And do you, Amy Rose, take King Scourge to be your lawfully wedded husband and king for as both as you both shall live?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Opening them again, she glanced to her left, where her bridesmaids stood at attention. Somehow, Rouge seemed alerted to something.

She looked Scourge in the eye and smiled slightly. "I do."

The priest closed the book and rose his arms. "Then I pronounce you husband and wife, King and Queen of Moebius. You may now kiss your bride."

The couple turned to face each other. With slightly trembling fingers, Scourge took the end of the veil gingerly and slowly rose it so that it draped across the back of Amy's head. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, and the both of them closed their eyes and leaned in for their first kiss as a married couple.

Suddenly, before their lips touched, the doors to the throne room burst open and there came a terrible, familiar voice...

"I OBJECT!"

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapter will be uploaded by midnight tonight. I wish you all a happy New Year.**

 **Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you all in 2019!**


	14. Chapter 14: Hammer Showdown

**A/N: Hey, I decided to post this now and end the year with the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Amy pulled away, turning to see the people gasp at a twitching figure at the doorway.

Her bubblegum-pink quills were stained a nauseating red, her weapon dripping with blood.

" _Rosy_ ," Scourge growled.

"Sorry that I crashed your wedding, _Scourgey_ ," she cooed in false cheer, "but surely your _pretty princess_ will understand that I get to SMASH YOU FIRST!"

Someone snickered at what she said and she turned, bludgeoning him to death with the hammer. The sounds of his screams and the spikes of the hammer shattering his skull filled the room, and a few people turned to heave in bags left under their chairs.

It only took a split-second for the people to fly into a panic and for Sonic's team to spring into action. Once everyone had pushed and shoved their way out of the throne room, the remaining guards blocked the exit, slamming the large doors shut.

The groomsmen produced their weapons and the bridesmaids stripped the skirts of their dresses to reveal battle-ready outfits underneath.

Amy looked apologetically at Scourge. "Sorry in advance for the battle that we'll be fighting in the throne room."

He grinned at her, cracking his knuckles. "No worries, toots, I've had worse things happen in here. Did I ever tell you about the time she attacked me in my bedroom?"

"Not now, guys!" Sally yelled. "Amy! Now!"

She nodded and undid the ribbon of her dress by yanking the end, making the skirt fall to the ground. She pulled Hazard from a strap at her waist, brandishing it menacingly.

"Bring it, Rosy," She taunted. "I'm not gonna let you crash my wedding like you own the place."

"Oh, I intend to," the pink hedgehog snarled with a malicious grin. "After I smash my _Scourgey_ , I'll make sure you never come between us again!"

With that, she lunged forward, swiping at Amy with her hammer.

Amy smacked it with hers, barely missing one of the giant spikes that adorned it. With that, the battle really began.

* * *

Sally found herself busy trying to get a hit in with her blades as Rosy went on a rampage. "I can't get her! She keeps evading!"

Cream narrowed her eyes. "Keep near Scourge! He's the main target."

"Whatever you do, don't let _him_ reveal himself!" Sally glanced at Tails helplessly as Rosy suddenly turned on her. "Tails?"

"I'm trying to raise shields," he replied, furiously typing something into his watch. "Those necklaces you're wearing? They envelop you in a full-body shield! It'll take a few really good hits to send them offline."

Sally was distracted by trying to reply for a moment, and that was all the time the tyrant girl needed to knock her unconscious.

"Sally!" Cream cried out, rushing to her aid. Rosy grew a nauseating smile before slamming the side of her hammer on the rabbit's skull. She fell, barely missing the blade of Sally's ring.

Rouge kissed her teeth, readying her weapon with her husband. "You ready, Knux?"

"Always." He grunted, balling his hands into fists. "Let's take this little girl down a few pegs."

The second the girl advanced on them, he swung his fist in a punch. She dodged, sending him tumbling behind her as she tried to hit Rouge.

"Knuckles!" She yelled.

"On it!" He replied, and swiftly punched her in the back, making her momentarily drop her weapon.

Rouge grabbed it and swung it at her face, but she ducked at the last second and kicked Rouge in the stomach, making her release the hammer. Rosy spun in a circle, the hammer knocking both Knuckles and Rouge to the ground.

"Ready when you are, Sonic." Tails said. "Since you can't attack normally or she'll whale on you, I got you those gauntlets. They shoot laser beams when you raise your hand toward a target it's already identified."

"Excellent as always." Sonic complimented with a grin, readying the gauntlets on his wrists. "It's weird not attacking normally, but I think I'll figure these out!"

"You'd better," Tails shot back with a teasing smile. "I worked hard on those."

As soon as Rosy came into range, Sonic rose his hand, sending a ray of energy toward her.

She fell with a yelp, making Sonic fist-pump. "Direct hit!"

When she got back up, her sights were trained on the duo.

Tails swore under his breath. "Shields are online!"

Amy, Sonic, and Scourge suddenly found themselves wrapped in bright blue shields that conformed to their body types.

"What the-" The ruler's eyes widened. "Hey, not bad tech!"

"I'll take that as a compliment." He muttered, before Rosy's hammer made contact with him and he fell.

The impact from Rosy's hammer made the watch short-circuit, and almost instantly, the shields were down.

"Tails!" Sonic yelled, raising his hand to fire again. Rosy's sick grin was the last thing he saw before she hit him in the face, causing him to fly backwards and hit the wall hard.

"Listen, Rosy, you don't wanna do this right now!" Scourge warned, making her head snap over to look at him.

"I do, I do, I _do_!" She chanted, giving him a grin. "Oh _Scourgey_ , what a nice wedding!"

"Not for you, it isn't!" He yelled, narrowly avoiding her hammer.

Amy slammed her hammer into the girl's head, electricity crackling, making her screech in agony. Her body convulsed for a few moments before she crumpled limply to the floor.

Amy reared the weapon back, panting heavily. "Did we... did we win?"

Scourge frowned. "I don't want to stick around to find out. Hit her again."

She nodded, swinging down.

At the last moment, the girl dodged it, her entire body twitching as she lost control. She laughed maniacally, swinging at the woman.

"What a pity, _bitch_!" She screamed, finally cornering her against the wall. "Dying on your own wedding day!"

Just as she was about to deal a fatal blow, she stopped.

Amy gasped, seeing a blade protruding from the girl's neck. Rosy gurgled out something before falling to the ground, choking on her own blood.

"Rosy!" She knelt beside the girl, Scourge kicking the weapon out of reach. "Are you okay?"

She hacked out some blood, splattering the floor, before closing her eyes.

Both of them looked up to see a hooded figure retreat their hand back under their cloak.

"Who are you?" Amy asked. "Why did you help us?"

"I came to save someone important to the both of us." A woman's voice came from below the hood just as she rose her arms to unhood herself.

When they saw her face, Scourge gasped.

"Is- is- is it- true?" He spluttered, reaching towards the woman.

"It is." The hedgehog smiled, opening her arms. "It's been too long, my son."

"Anti-Bernadette!" Amy whispered to herself. "Your majesty! It's an honor."

Before she could bow, Scourge stopped her. His eyes were narrowed into a glare at the indigo hedgehog.

"Why?" He asked. "Why has it taken you so long to come back here?"

Her smile faded and she sighed. "Reasons that you can't understand."

" _Bullshit_!" Scourge roared, his hands balling into fists. "For _years_ we wondered if you were alright. Father sent troops to find you! I missed you terribly! Why did you come back _now_?!"

"Such language..." She muttered to herself. She rose her head, frowning at her son. "I'm perfectly fine to discuss these matters with you calmly. Do you want to hear them, or not?"

"Of course I do!" He snapped. "You, me, Amy, battle room, now."

Before he could storm off, Amy grabbed his wrists.

"Wha-" He was cut off by her pressing her lips to his in a quick kiss.

When she pulled away, he stared at her, dazed and confused.

She smiled amusedly. "That's our first kiss as husband and wife. Remember? Rosy interrupted during the ceremony."

Suddenly, she gasped. "Oh no, the ceremony! We need to get everyone medical attention! Don't you have a medical bay?"

"We do." Scourge nodded. "Miles!"

The fox entered, then took a step back at the chaos. Chairs were overturned, blood splattered the floor, and there were unconscious bodies everywhere. His eyes turned first towards Queen Bernadette, bowing slightly, before looking at the married couple.

"I don't think I wish to know what happened here," he said. "What do you need, sire?"

"We need to get the Mobians to the medical ward," he replied, gesturing towards them.

Miles nodded, turned to call for guards, and began to help Scourge carry a few.

When he'd lifted Cream into his arms, Amy cried, "Wait!"

Both men turned to look at her.

She gestured to Rosy. "She's still alive... we should try to save her."

"Are you mad?!" Scourge yelled. "She tried to kill us all! She should die!"

"Then I suppose you'd feel the same about us letting _you_ die?" She asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow. "You've tried to kill us all, too."

He sputtered for a few moments. Finally, he sighed harshly. " _Fine_. And tell the guards to get her a bed too."

Amy picked her pink doppelganger off the ground and turned to Scourge's mother. "Sorry, this might take a while. Rosy picked off quite a few of the guards..."

"I understand." She had a pleasant smile when she looked at the girl, gently touching her shoulder. "I'll be waiting in the battle room for you two."

* * *

 **A/N: Last chapter before the end. Please tell me what you thought, feel free to speculate on what will happen next, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter for the ending! Happy New Year's Eve!**


	15. Chapter 15: Hope For the Future (End)

**A/N: And here it is: The end! Man, it's been a wild ride. Thank you to all who have kept up with this story (even when I took a super long hiatus). I know it won't be as popular as the original, but I like to think of this as the more polished alternate-universe version. I don't know if I'll make a sequel, but I'm definitely making a 'prequel' of sorts. I don't know when I'll ever publish that one, but if enough of you want me to make a sequel, then I'm down to do it!**

 **Without further ado, I'll see you all at the bottom!**

* * *

The meeting in the battle room was a heated one.

Scourge was still royally pissed that his mother had come back on his wedding day, and she explained it all.

"Scourge, your father was a jealous man." She began, folding her hands in her lap. "When he married me, we were both soldiers in the army at that time. He soon rose to power as king of the Moebians, and the day after he was coronated king, I found out that I was pregnant with you."

"I had thought that I had married a kind, courageous man." She shook her head sadly. "After you were born, I realized I was wrong."

"What forced me to leave was an argument we had when you were still an infant. I had become friends with a number of the people employed under your father, but my closest confidant was the sous chef at the time, who also happened to be a male." She blinked rapidly, as if trying not to burst into tears. "When your father found out that I was good friends with a male, he became enraged and forbid me from ever talking to or even seeing him again. He sent my good friend far away to be the cook in one of his regiments... the one that happened to be on the front line of a war we were fighting."

Scourge's mouth opened for a few seconds, as if he was going to say something, but then he stopped.

"I couldn't take it anymore. I had thought that, although your father was a little weird in the fact that he wouldn't allow me around many male staff members, he could trust me. Our fight was so intense that he nearly struck me. I slept in the guest quarters that night and planned to escape my unhappy marriage."

"So then why the hell did you leave me here with him?" He demanded. "He wasn't much better with _me_!"

"I felt that, at the time, I just couldn't subject you to the rogue life at such a tender age." She replied with a sad frown. "You were just a baby. I couldn't take away your necessities simply because I had to get away from your father for a while."

"Pardon," Amy began before Scourge could say another word, "you said 'for a while'. What kept you away for so many years?"

"I originally intended to live by myself for however long it took for me to be able to forgive my husband for what he'd done. It was hard thinking about having to leave my baby boy behind, but if I could... get a little revenge against him, in a way, I figured I had to do it. If anything else, I had to do it for myself."

Scourge nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "What made you come back?"

"It was the news that your father had died." She replied. "It took me fifteen years to forgive him, but right when I departed to return, I got the news that he'd been killed and that the land was in chaos again. I decided to stay where I was until I'd been notified that there was peace again... that took another ten years."

"The land I was in was so remote, it took quite a while coming back here." She got a faint smile on her face. "That's when I heard that you were getting married, Scourge. For years, I'd heard of some 'King Scourge', but it never occurred to me that you were the baby I left behind. For all I knew for ten years, you had been murdered with your father."

He scoffed a little, but nodded again.

"Although, I have to say that I am a little disappointed that you were such a tyrant in your youth." She gave him such a disappointed look, he winced. "You reminded me so much of your father, I thought to hell with it, I don't want to come back just so that the new king can keep me as an example."

"Sorry you hated me _that_ much, _Mom_." He muttered sarcastically. "And whaddya mean, 'in my youth'? I'm still in my prime!"

"You're twenty-nine," Amy reminded with a giggle. "And I'm only twenty-four."

"So?" He rose an eyebrow. "That doesn't mean I'm not as energetic as I used to be!"

* * *

In the end, mother and son made up, and Queen Bernadette gave up her status as Queen so that she could retire in peace... after twenty-two years of doing absolutely nothing as queen. She coronated Amy as the new Queen of Moebius, much to the delight of their subjects.

Meanwhile, in the medbay, Sonic and the others recovered fast. Cream and Tails were the last ones to leave the medical ward, and Amy threw a special dinner to celebrate.

Rosy, however, had to have multiple surgeries to save her life... not that the staff was enthusiastic to save it in the first place. Amy put a special order over the girl to have her life spared, and once she was well enough to leave, she was to be peacefully exiled to a remote corner of the kingdom to live until her death.

Her health began to pick up fast. Within a few weeks, she was awake and sitting up. Somehow, the fight in the throne room seemed to have knocked some of the spark out of her, and for the most part, she was pretty relaxed. It was almost like it had reduced the effect that the Ring of Acorns had had on her for so many years.

When she was discharged from the hospital, Amy managed to get her a guest room until she could fully teach her how to grow crops and how to live off of the land, in case she was stranded somewhere. When she'd been taught everything, the queen let her go, and she was escorted by guards to the place where she'd spend the rest of her life.

Amy and Scourge came to an agreement that he was to leave Mobius - and Dr. Kintobor - alone, in exchange for a portal being built between their two worlds that would allow either race to visit as often as they wanted. Miles was to be the ambassador between their two worlds, coming with news from either.

Amy promised that, although she was still going to live her life on Mobius Prime, she would go to Moebius for an entire week one week out of every month. In exchange, Scourge always had a place in her home in case he ever needed a break from ruling.

While he was away from the throne, the Queen mother, Bernadette, ruled in his stead. She managed to keep things peaceful, just like what her husband had done so many years ago - only this time, she was supporting Scourge through it all.

A year after the fated battle, Scourge threw a banquet in the castle and invited everyone in the kingdom to come, and hailed Amy's friends as heroes.

* * *

"I'm so glad you could come, Amy," Scourge greeted his wife with a peck on her lips. He held her hands, smiling. "I missed you."

"It's only been a week, dear," she laughed. "You know this doesn't count towards our agreement, right?"

"Of course I do! I'm not _that_ insufferable!" He insisted with a cheesy grin.

"I have people who would beg to differ, your highness." She smiled mischeviously.

The two giggled together until someone tapped Amy's shoulder.

When she turned around, she gasped. "Your majesty! It's been so long!"

"Oh, please, dear, I've told you to call me Mother." The aging queen mother laughed gently, enveloping the girl in a hug. "Calling me 'your majesty' makes me feel so old."

"Fifty-five isn't that old." Scourge promised, slinging an arm around his mother. "We've been working on plans for a ring that acts as a portal between our worlds. It'll be a lot more convenient than having our regular portal."

"You won't make it obsolete, will you?" Amy asked.

"Of course not. Only the royal family and friends of the royal family will have access to the rings." He assured with a wink.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Amy gasped. She turned to see Sonic strolling in, talking with his mother. "Mother, have I introduced you to Bernadette yet?"

"Bernadette?" She echoed with a frown. "I don't follow."

"Sonic's mom." She told her to wait, and she speedwalked over to the blue blur.

"Sonic!" She cheered, hugging him for a moment. "Can I snatch your mom real quick?"

He rose an eyebrow. "Not for anything evil, I hope."

"No, no, I just want her to meet someone." Amy promised.

"Lead the way, Amy." The indigo hedgehog smiled, allowing herself to be led off.

"Your majesty, this is Bernadette Hedgehog, Sonic's mom." Amy gestured between them. "Bernadette, this is Scourge's mother, the former queen Bernadette."

"An honor to meet you, Queen Bernadette." Bernadette said with a giggle. "So strange to hear my name meant for someone else."

"Strange indeed." The former queen agreed. With a smile, she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to have met you. I now see where Sonic got his courage from."

"Oh, _no_ , he got it from my husband." Bernadette laughed. "That reminds me... he's probably still around here somewhere. Do you want to go find him?"

Anti-Bernadette hesitated. Obviously, some painful memories were welling up in her mind. But she shook her head, replying with "Lead the way."

The group mingled some more when Amy saw someone vaguely familiar at the entrance to the banquet hall.

"One second," she told the person she was talking with. She speedwalked over and tapped on their shoulder, only for that person to turn around and smile.

"Amy, congratulations on a year of peace." She gave the confused woman a hug. "Don't you remember me?"

Amy thought hard. Finally, she shook her head.

The girl laughed. "It's me, Emi."

"Emi...? Wait... Rosy?" She repeated in disbelief.

When she nodded, Amy exclaimed, "I can't believe it's you! I didn't even recognize you! How have you been? I assume you did get the invitation, then."

"I've been fine," she replied. "Dr. Kintobor has actually been helping me reverse the effects of the Ring of Acorns. So far, I've been regaining my mind one day at a time."

"I assume you dyed your fur, then?"

"Yes." She nodded, touching the scrunchie that kept her quills in a ponytail. "I've always wanted white fur."

"So have I!" Amy giggled. "I love your new look, though. I doubt even Scourge would recognize you!"

She hesitated. "Would he... really be okay with me being here? I have been awful these past fifteen years..."

"I let him know beforehand that you've been changing your ways," she said sternly. "If he freaks out on you now, I'll just have to remove one of my monthly visits."

"Oh no, don't do that!" She giggled weakly. "I swear those visits are the only thing keeping him sane."

"Well then we'll have to fix that, won't we?" Amy got a strange smile on her face before grabbing the girl's hand. "C'mon, I think we're about ready to begin eating."

When everyone had been seated at the various tables, Scourge tapped a glass with a spoon.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, his voice broad and powerful, "I thank you for coming to this celebration of one year since we began our peace with Mobius Prime. You are all welcome to eat as much as you want and enjoy the fellowship between yourselves."

Just as he sat down, Amy stood up. The people went quiet again as they stared at her.

She smiled, growing a little nervous. "I would also like to thank you all for coming to the celebration. It's been a wonderful year since I married Scourge, and I couldn't ask for more. It's actually a good thing that you're all seated, because I have some good news."

She glanced down at Scourge, who was understandably confused.

She closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them, a big smile encompassing her face. "I would like to announce that I'm pregnant with the heir to the throne."

It was silent for a second. Then suddenly, the room burst into applause and a few people began cheering. She was nearly toppled to the ground by Scourge, who all but leapt out of his chair to embrace her tightly. She hugged back, laughing when she felt hot tears on her shoulder.

"Are you really?" He asked when he pulled away, gripping her hands in his. "Are you really pregnant?"

"It's true," she nodded joyfully. "I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. You're going to be a father."

He hugged her again before raising his wine glass. "A toast to the prosperous future of Moebius! A toast to the new prince or princess!"

* * *

After the banquet had ended, it was decided that Miles would assume control over the affairs of the kingdom for a time, guided by Queen Bernadette. Scourge made preparations to move to Mobius Prime in order to be by Amy's side and to get ready for the newest edition to their kingdom.

While Sonic was understandably a little morose over the fact that Amy was pregnant by Scourge, he was still excited when she told him that he would be an uncle.

Cream and Tails were floored when she asked them to be the godparents of the baby. They had only recently gotten into a relationship with each other, but they promised her that they would, if she and Scourge couldn't, raise the child in the best way they could.

Rouge had also announced that she was pregnant, and Knuckles was over the moon. For a solid week, he went through his daily activities staring at Rouge with a goofy grin on his face.

Rouge had made Amy promise that their children were going to be best friends, and when the time came for Cream to settle down, they made her swear that her children would be good friends with their children.

After a while of debating, Knuckles and Rouge named Scourge and Amy the godparents of their child. The couple were grateful and promised to be excellent godparents.

And thus, a new era began. The second Great Peace had arrived, and everyone was determined to make it a better, happier one.

* * *

 **A/N: What a happy ending. A great way to start the year off, too! Again, I want to thank all that have stuck with me.**

 **I wanna give special thanks to these commenters:**

 **bajy**

 **NeckBreak**

 **Thank you so much for being so supportive! I also want to thank Zoggerific for their help, too.**

 **Please tell me how I did, and I'll see you... next time. Perhaps in The Camp Shinobi Disaster.**

 **Also, if you would, for the Stardew Valley fans, I've started a oneshot book about Sebastian. I'd really appreciate it if you checked it out.**

 **Next book in the series will be about the Macaroni Salad incident!**


	16. ALTERNATE ENDING: And With a Kiss, I Die

**A/N: I don't usually write alternate endings for my fanfictions, but since some of you wanted it so bad, here's an alternate ending for TTH. It's not exactly happier, but nonetheless, here you go, Anti-ScourgAmy fans.**

* * *

 **And With a Kiss, I Die**

* * *

Amy fidgeted in her bed. While the next day was sure to be exciting enough, something else was keeping her awake.

Just about everyone had gone to bed for the night, and the sound of rustling wind outside was the only thing she could hear besides the ticking of a clock.

She glanced at said clock. Only 11:23.

She sighed to herself, rubbing her face with her hands.

"What am I doing…?" She whispered to herself. "Why am I feeling this way?"

Sure, when she'd first gotten this mission, she had felt nothing but contempt for the young ruler for the way he'd treated them in the past, but now, all she could see was an angry, traumatised boy who just desperately wanted someone to love him and give him attention.

 _Well, attention he garnered when he killed off his father,_ some voice in her heart snarked. _He hasn't been any better with his servants anyway._

She tried to suppress it, but the harder she pushed, the more things began to twist.

Something in his eyes hadn't felt right during the weeks she'd been in Moebius. Something always felt off about him… almost like he was faking it.

She tried to shake it away, but images kept popping up in her head of something strange in the way he looked at her.

" _Well, you know what they say, fake it until you make it, I guess?"_ She thought to herself, resting her forehead in the palm of her hand. _"I mean, I felt pretty nasty things towards him in the beginning too. Maybe he really did change."_

Still the inconsistencies kept piling up.

She'd accidentally eavesdropped on one of his conversations with Miles only a few days into her stay with them. Plans to invade the Acorn Kingdom were apparently well underway, if the talk of spies in Mobius wasn't just them bluffing.

Scourge had seemed pretty stoked about the idea of taking over Acorn Kingdom back then… but then again, he'd also been careful not to let anything of those plans be revealed to her, so who was to say?

She groaned, slipping her legs over the side of her bed. "I need to get some fresh air."

She grabbed a crimson robe and tied it, grabbing some slippers and stepping out into the hallway.

Feeling the chill in the air, she stuffed her hands into the robe's pockets, but paused when she felt something cold.

She pulled her hand out of her pocket, finding a tiny glass bottle.

Frowning, she read its tiny label carefully. Then she nodded. It was as she thought… but how did it…?

 _Oh._ She remembered Sally discreetly slipping it into her pocket as she was hugged goodnight.

She peeked around in the hallway, sneaking through it quietly so as to not disturb any of the other girls.

When she got to the end of the guest hall, she sighed.

"Now, to outside…" she muttered under her breath. She took a step down the staircase when she saw Miles coming up.

"Oh, miss Rose." He seemed genuinely surprised to see her, stopping in his tracks. "I was under the impression that you had gone to bed."

"Can't sleep so far." She chuckled weakly. "Figured I might try to get sleepy by walking around."

He nodded. "Ah, I see." He continued up the stairs. "I was about to visit his highness before drifting, myself."

 _Ah! Scourge!_

A plan suddenly came to her mind, and she scratched her neck. "Do you think that… I mean, he wouldn't mind me visiting, would he?"

Miles looked at her for a moment. His frown didn't deepen, nor did it lift. She could only hope that he didn't see how nervous she really was beneath the surface.

Finally, he relented, gesturing for her to follow. "I don't see why he wouldn't. Follow me."

She sighed in relief, smiling at his back. She walked with him past the guest quarters and through two guarded doors.

"I'm quite surprised you want to visit him now," Miles remarked as he turned his head to look at her, one eyebrow raised, making her heart flip for a moment. "I was under the impression that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding."

She laughed nervously, smoothing down her robe. "Well, I- I just thought… maybe if we talked a bit about it, that it would ease some nerves, y'know?"

He nodded again, almost dismissively. "I see."

She bit her lip, focusing hard on the windows across the hallway. The night was black, ironic for the act she was hopefully about to commit.

When they got to his door at the very end of the hallway, Miles stopped her by gently grasping her arm.

"What is it?" She asked.

His face was bowed, shadowed in the dim light of the hallway. When he looked up at her, his expression was almost painful. His eyes searched hers for a moment before he closed them.

"... Please." He let go of her arm, almost as if she'd burned him. "... make sure he sleeps pleasantly."

She realized quickly, and swallowed, nodding to him.

"You have my word." She replied slowly.

He suddenly leaned forward, hugging her tight for a moment. She froze in surprise.

"I cannot ask any more of you than this." He spoke quietly, though she understood. "I have valued him, not as my master, perhaps not as a friend, but as an ally."

She held him for a few moments, his fingers gripping the soft fabric of her robe as he tried to regain his calm demeanor.

"One more loop around the castle," he muttered loud enough for her to hear. "That's all I can give you."

As quickly as he'd embraced her, he pulled away, bidding her a good night through jaded eyes and a heavy voice. He turned, fixed himself so that he looked the way he always had, and walked away, disappearing in the dim.

She tried to shake away the bad feeling rising in her gut and knocked on the door.

She heard him call 'come in' and opened it only to see him sitting in bed with a sheet of paper. His glasses weren't on his face for once, just sitting next to the table lamp on the bedside table.

He looked up in surprise. "Amy, hi. Didn't expect you to come in."

"Sorry if I've intruded," she sheepishly laughed as she shut the door behind herself.

"No, no, that's totally fine. Uh-" he glanced around, spotting a glass of wine on the end table. "I already opened it, but… you care for some late-night wine?"

"That sounds amazing right now." She accepted the glass he handed her and poured herself a bit of the drink. She went to the window, gazing up at the moonless sky. Guilt gnawed at her being.

"So what brings you here? No sleep?" He asked, putting the paper with its companions on the table.

She turned back to face him, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Yeah, actually. Guess I'm just nervous for tomorrow."

He nodded. "I know that feel. That's actually why I'm still up, too."

He squinted at the door. "Although I was thinking that Miles was gonna show up… You run into him at all?"

"He, uh, he told me that he was going to do one more round before coming to visit." She shrugged. "Guess he wanted to give us some time alone?"

"That's my number-one wingman," he joked, chuckling. "Ah- hey, you don't have to keep standing there. You can have a seat, y'know."

He patted the spot on his bed next to him, and she blushed a bit.

"Well, can't refuse that," she said lightly, scooting up next to him on the bed. His bedspread was soft - almost inhumanly so. Where in the hell was he getting stuff that felt like she was melting on a bed of chocolate?!

She took a tiny sip of wine, relaxing on the headboard behind herself. He picked up another piece of paper, but accidentally knocked off his glasses in the process.

"Ah _shit_ \- sorry, excuse me." He bent over the side to retrieve them.

" _Now's my chance!"_ She thought, hastily grabbing the bottle. She pulled off the cap and emptied it into the glass, giving it a tiny swirl before putting the bottle back in her pocket.

To her amazement, just as she took her hand out again, he sat back up, sunglasses in hand.

" _That was close…"_ she inwardly sighed.

He sighed, setting his glasses back on the table. "You ready for… that?"

"Hm?" She was confused for a moment, but then she got it. "Oh. That. Yeah, I- I suppose I'm ready."

"Cool, cool." He nodded awkwardly. "Me too, I guess."

She giggled a bit at his inability to stay cool.

After a few long moments, she finally mustered up the courage. "Hey, could I try something?"

"Depends on what it is." He rose an eyebrow.

She blushed as pink as her quills, glancing away. "I… I was hoping to practice… the kiss?"

He blinked. "... Oh."

"Yeah."

He scratched the back of his neck, his own cheeks flaring up. "Um… yeah, sure, why not?"

She nodded, taking a quick swig of the wine. She made sure not to get enough liquid to look suspicious, leaned in, and pressed her lips to his.

Almost immediately, she set the glass down on the papers and gently felt for the back of his head.

When his tongue prodded at her lips, she opened her mouth, letting the wine out slowly.

The kiss was tense, rigid. He seemed to know what he was doing, but it had presumably been quite a while since he'd done anything with a woman.

Cautiously, she let her tongue play with his for a moment before breaking away, gazing deep into his eyes.

His eyes were half-lidded, his face a fiery red.

"Whoa," he breathed. "I haven't… kissed like that in a long time."

She laughed shyly, looking away. "Well, glad I wasn't as bad as I thought I'd be."

"Nah, you were great." He grinned at her, reaching out to cup her cheek with his hand.

After a moment, he yawned, covering his mouth with his arm.

"Whoa, geez, I'm really sleepy all of a sudden…" he mumbled. "Tell Miles that if he doesn't get here soon that I'll see him tomorrow."

"Will do." She nodded, trying to force back the shame of what she'd done.

He gave her a tired smile, sliding down in his bed so that he was on his back. "Goodnight, Amy."

"Night." She gently took his hand in hers, gazing intensely at him.

His eyelids fluttered shut, and soon enough, he was asleep.

She heaved a long, shuddery sigh. She squeezed his hand once, then slid off the bed. She grabbed the glass after shutting the lamp off on her way - might as well not leave any evidence.

She paused at the door, looking back at him. Her eyes stung with the tears that threatened to manifest themselves, but she rubbed them away.

"Good night, and goodbye, Scourge," she whispered. "... I don't know if you ever felt love for me, but… but deep in my heart, I love you too."

* * *

After trying to wash away the shame and disposing of the poisoned wine in the bushes, Amy walked out into the grounds to sit among the flowers.

She sighed quietly to herself, slumping onto a bench while she looked up at the sky.

"Is this a mistake?" She mumbled to herself, hiding her face in her hands. "What if...?"

"Ames?" The sudden voice made her jump. Whirling around in her seat, she spotted Sonic walking up to her through the bushes.

"What the _hell_ , Sonic?" She hissed, clutching her heart. "You scared the Rings outta me! Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry, sorry." He chuckled, sitting next to her. "Something on your mind?"

"I guess." She shrugged, looking back up at the black night sky. "I'm just really anxious."

"Anyone would be." He scooted an inch closer, turning his body so that he could look directly at her. "I mean, you're twenty-four, still in your prime, and you're getting married."

"I still can't believe anything that's happened." She gave a half-hearted chuckle.

"None of us can." Sonic laughed with her, casting her a pleasant smile. "I mean, I can't."

"That's because I'll forever be that weird little hedgehog that chases you and begs for a date, right?" She joked, although a tinge of frustration leaked into her voice. "To be honest, I think they'd be more shocked if you suddenly announced that you were getting hitched."

"Nah, not me." He agreed with a 'heh'. "I don't know if I'll ever settle down."

"Yeah... we know." She looked away, a frown overshadowing her face. "We know."

"Hey." He gently grabbed her face, turning it so that he could look into her eyes. "I haven't completely written it off, Ames."

"But why wait?" She asked. "We won't be young forever."

"Sometimes it seems like... I dunno... I don't want someone I love to worry themselves half to death about my safety." His thumb brushed across her cheek, and the movement wasn't lost on the rosette.

"We already worry ourselves sick for you, Sonic." She reprimanded. "I know I have... so many times."

"I can't say I don't appreciate it." He smiled, something that almost seemed... adoring. "I worry about you too. Every battle."

"I'm flattered." She gave a half-smile. "I guess that now you'll have to worry more than you ever have before."

"Yeah, I guess I will." His expression suddenly became serious. "Listen, Ames, if this truly is our last night together as friends- no, as- well, never mind that, there's something I need to tell you."

She winced when he mentioned 'friends', but she forced a smile anyway. "What did you need to tell me? It can't wait until tomorrow morning?"

"No." He shook his head. "This is the last time we can be alone so that I can tell you."

"Well, alright then." She rose an eyebrow. "What is it?"

He slid off the bench, getting on his knees in front of her. He let go of her chin and clasped her hands gingerly in his, almost as if he thought she would break if he squeezed them.

"Ames, in case neither of us leaves the battle in once piece tomorrow, or in case everything goes according to plan," He gazed earnestly into her eyes. "I..."

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. "I love you!"

When her mouth fell agape, he opened his eyes and gazed into her wide amaranth ones, tugging her hands to his chest.

"There hasn't been a day I haven't thought about you. I've loved you since the incident, and I've worried about you far longer." With every sentence, he gently shook her hands in his.

"I..."

"Please, don't do this." He pleaded. "Call it off, assassinate him, come back to Mobius. I'll date you. Just please..."

She grew uncomfortable with every beg, and finally cut him off by getting her hand free and pressing her index finger to his lips.

"Sonic..." Her voice was quiet, trembling with hidden emotion, "I… I- I killed him."

"You what?!" Sonic flinched away, his jaw dropping open at her confession. "When did you…?"

"Just before coming out here," she bowed her head, her eyes dotting with guilty tears. "I asked Miles to take me to his chambers, and… and I just…"

She weakly mimicked a drinking motion to her own chest, and Sonic blanched.

"Poison, huh…" he weakly muttered. "So… so what now?"

"We need to call everyone together, find Kintobor, and escape." Her voice trembled with raw emotion as she looked up again. "Before anyone else realizes what's happened…"

Sonic all but jumped to his feet. "Yeah! I- wait, what do you mean?" He suddenly looked horrified. "Did- did someone see you kill him?"

"Miles figured it out on the way to his room." She wiped her eyes and stood with him. "He only asked me not to make it too painful…"

She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a tiny sob. "Chao, I'm so sorry, Miles…"

"Don't beat yourself up about this so much." Sonic gently grabbed her shoulders, pulling her in for an embrace. "For now, we need to focus on getting the hell outta dodge."

"I feel so awful!" She wept quietly into his chest, her fingers gripping his fur shakily. "What would his mother say if she's even alive? To find out that your only son was murdered by his fiancee right before their wedding? Chao, I'm a horrible person!"

"Don't cry, dear." A sudden female voice startled the couple and Amy whipped her head up to stare into the hedge.

"Wha…" She stumbled over her tongue as an indigo hedgehog stepped out, her cerulean eyes dark with pain. Her clothing consisted of a simple black travelling cloak and brown boots, the hood of the cloak pulled back so that the duo could see her face.

"B- Bernadette?" Sonic gasped. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled wryly at the young hedgehog. "I'm afraid I'm not the Bernadette you know, young man."

"Queen Bernadette!" Amy blubbered, falling to her knees before the matriarch. "Please forgive me! I had no ill will for him, I swear!"

Clucking her tongue, the queen gently grabbed Amy's hand and pulled her off the grass.

"Don't cry, please." She wiped Amy's tears away and brushed the dirt from the robe. "I… I do not hate you for what you've done."

Sonic merely stared at her in disbelief. "So… so why have you come back?"

She looked up at him, her saddened expression deepening as she gave him a once-over. "Allow me to say how much you resemble what he used to be. Well, I've been travelling across the kingdom to make it in time for his wedding, but…"

Amy hiccupped quietly, trying to hide her face away.

Anti-Bernadette sighed, holding her close. "I guess it would be a bit of a shock if I suddenly appeared amidst the chaos of the king's death, wouldn't it… Oh dear. Perhaps I'll appoint Miles as a temporary ruler for now - if I still hold power, that is."

She shook her head, pulling away. "You two must hurry. While it's only midnight, I've no doubt that the guards have been instructed to do an early-morning wake up call."

Sonic nodded. "C'mon, Amy. We need to tell the others."

Amy looked up at the woman, her guilt eating her alive just seeing the shadows on her face. She appeared ten years older than she probably was. "Your Majesty, once again, I'm so sorry."

The queen shook her head once more. "No more apologies, no more tears, dear. I understand."

She gave the rosette a bit of a smile and stepped away. "Now go. Escape."

She nodded, bowed once more to the woman, and ran off with Sonic, hand-in-hand, though neither must have noticed.

* * *

Sometime in the night, the guards were tipped off to an intruder on the castle grounds. When attacked, it was revealed that the 'intruder' was in fact Rosy trying to stake out the place. She was promptly sedated and arrested, thrown into the deepest, darkest cell in their prison.

When confronted by Miles again, Amy made him promise that Mobius would be left alone. In exchange, Amy promised him that she would visit every so often to check in on the place.

The next morning, instead of a royal wedding like the denizens had thought, they were greeted by Miles in the place of the priest. The official story that everyone had been told was that the king unexpectedly passed in the night because his heart had stopped. A funeral was to be held two weeks hence, and in the interim both he and - at this point Queen Bernadette revealed herself - that he would be helped by the former queen.

Sonic, meanwhile, kept one of the things he promised and asked Amy to date him. While still troubled at the loss of Scourge, she accepted, but only if they would take it slow.

* * *

A year after Scourge's death, the economy for Moebius was booming. Doctor Kintobor was named the royal scientist, the Suppression Squad was renamed to the official Royal Guard, and Miles was promoted - Queen Bernadette had just named him her successor for when she inevitably retired from her duties.

Miles had recently been introduced to a young rabbit girl in the kingdom, and the two hit it off almost immediately. When Amy was introduced to her, she could hardly keep from laughing herself right back to Mobius. The girl he fancied was none other than Cream's doppelganger, Anti-Cream. How anti-climatic.

An uneasy peace set over the kingdom, as well as rumors of just how the previous king had died. Some theorized that one of the guards killed him, and some said that Amy herself had done him in. Nobody dared to speak up about it, however - and just like his father before him, Scourge was eventually forgotten.

* * *

 **A/N: It's a bit longer for a chapter, but it's another ending.**

 **Hope y'all enjoyed it, and I apologize if it wasn't what you were expecting (just so you know, I'm not writing any other endings for this book).**


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